Harry Styles is one of the world’s biggest superstars today, although it apparently took Simon Cowell a moment to see the vision.
As you know, Harry got his big break as a member of the boyband One Direction, which was formed on The X Factor UK in 2010.
Harry and fellow bandmates Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, and Louis Tomlinson all initially auditioned as solo acts but were turned away before the “Judges’ Houses” round of Season 7. Fortunately, the five boys were given a second chance when guest judge Nicole Scherzinger prompted Simon to put them into a group.
As we now know, Zayn left One Direction in March 2015, and within a few months, it was reported that the remaining members would be taking a break after the release of their fifth album, Made In The A.M., in November of that year.
Since their hiatus, all five original members have gone on to pursue solo music — although Harry has undoubtedly been the most successful.
In spite of this, Simon — who mentored One Direction on The X Factor and signed them to his record company when the show finished — recalled during this week’s episode of The Diary Of A CEOpodcast that he wasn’t initially blown away by Harry’s talent when they first crossed paths 14 years ago.
Despite saying that “no one would’ve thought” that Harry was destined for stardom in that first audition, Simon did acknowledge that the teen instantly won over the audience by being “fun” and “unbelievably charismatic.”
Looking at how far all the 1D members have come, Simon praised them for using “the group as a vehicle to go where they really want to go in their lives.”
But, as for whether “Harry would be Harry” without ever being in One Direction, Simon said: “All I know is being in the group definitely made it easier.”
