Niall Horan
Niall James Horan, born 13 September 1993
(age 21), is from
Mullingar,
County Westmeath,
Ireland. Born to Bobby Horan and Maura Horan, now Maura Gallagher, he has an older brother named Greg. Their parents divorced when he was five. He and his brother lived between each of their homes for a few years before eventually deciding to live with their father in Mullingar. Horan was a pupil at
Coláiste Mhuire, a boys'
Christian Brothers school. He was in his school's choir, performing seasonally around Christmas.
Zayn Malik
Zain Javadd "Zayn" Malik, born 12 January 1993
(age 21), is from
Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. His father, Yaser Malik, is
British Pakistani, and his mother, Tricia (née Brannan) Malik, is of Irish and English descent. He has one older sister, Doniya, and two younger sisters, Waliyha and Safaa.
He grew up in
East Bowling, was a pupil at Lower Fields Primary School, and went to
Tong High School, a state comprehensive school. Malik did not fit in at his first two schools due to his mixed heritage. Malik has stated that he started taking pride in his appearance after moving schools at the age of twelve. Upon auditioning for
The X Factor, he stated: "I was looking for an experience". He cites
urban music as his main musical influence, growing up, he was into
R&B and
rap. He as well as other members of
One Direction further notes artists such as
Bruno Mars, as a "dream collaborator." Malik is a heavy cigarette smoker; in late 2011, he expressed his desire to quit. Malik is Muslim, and once affirmed that by tweeting "
La ila ha ill lalla ho muhammed door rasoolalah" (declaration of faith, meaning: "There is no God but
Allah and
Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah"). In June 2012, Malik's approach to Islam was criticised by blogger
Debbie Schlussel, who accused him of
advertising Islam to young fans; at the same time, he was criticised, on
Twitter, by conservative Muslims, for not taking Islamic doctrine seriously enough. In July 2014, during the
2014 Israel–Gaza conflict, Malik tweeted the message "#FreePalestine" to his 13 million
Twitter followers, reportedly provoking anger from One Direction fans in Israel.
Liam Payne
Liam James Payne, born 29 August 1993
(age 21), is from
Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. Born three weeks early, to Karen and Geoff Payne, he has two older sisters, Ruth and Nicola. Until the age of four, Payne had regular tests done in
hospital as doctors noticed one of his kidneys was scarred and dysfunctional. To help cope with the pain, he had 32 injections in his arm in the morning and evening as a child. As a student, Payne was heavily involved in sports. Payne was
bullied in secondary school and took up boxing lessons at the age of 12. He was a
music technology student at
City of Wolverhampton College.
Payne had once performed in front of a crowd of 26,000 at a
Wolverhampton Wanderers football match. He supports
West Bromwich Albion. Payne first auditioned in 2008 to
The X Factor's
fifth series when he was fourteen. He made it to the judges' houses, but Cowell thought he was not ready for the competition and asked him to come back in two years. Payne came back to the show two years later and auditioned with the song, "
Cry Me a River" and blew the judges away. Payne cites
Justin Timberlake as one of his biggest influences.
[33] He also said that he draws inspiration from
Take That member
Gary Barlow when performing.
Harry Styles
Harry Edward Styles, born 1 February 1994
(age 20), is from the village of
Holmes Chapel, Cheshire, England. He is a former pupil at
Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School, a state comprehensive school. Born to Anne
Cox (née Selley) and Des Styles, he has one sibling, his elder sister Gemma. He was seven when their parents divorced; his mother subsequently remarried. Following the divorce, Styles, his older sister and mother moved further out into the Cheshire countryside. At the age of 12 he moved back to Holmes Chapel. Prior to participating in
The X Factor, the then 16-year-old Styles had a part-time
job at the W. Mandeville Bakery in Holmes Chapel.
Styles was the lead singer for the band White Eskimo with band members lead guitarist Haydn Morris, bass guitarist Nick Clough and drummer Will Sweeny. They had once entered a Battle of the Bands competition, which they won. As a child, Styles loved singing, noting
Elvis Presley as one of his influences. He also cites Presley for his musical beginnings. Styles cites contemporaries such as
Foster the People,
Coldplay and
Kings of Leon among his influences. Styles stated that "The X Factor gave him 'a lot more' [confidence]" as a performer. He often looks to Coldplay front man
Chris Martin for inspiration when performing on stage. Styles has stated that
The Beatles had an influence on him growing up, as his father often played their music.
Louis Tomlinson
Louis William Tomlinson, born Louis Troy Austin on 24 December 1991
(age 22), is from
Doncaster,
South Yorkshire, England. Born to Johannah (née Poulston) and Troy Austin, his parents split up when he was young and he took the surname of his stepfather, Mark Tomlinson. He has one younger half-brother and six younger half-sisters, two of whom had roles as babies in the television series
Fat Friends, on which he appeared as an extra. After
Fat Friends, he attended an acting school in
Barnsley. He had small parts in an
ITV drama film
If I Had You and
BBC's
Waterloo Road. He was a
sixth form student at
Hall Cross School, a state comprehensive school, and a former pupil of
the Hayfield School. He
failed his first year of
A levels at the Hayfield School and ended up going back to Hall Cross and starting A levels again. He had a number of
jobs, including at a
Vue cinema and at
Doncaster Rovers football stadium as a waiter in the hospitality suites.
As a student at Hall Cross, Tomlinson appeared in several musical productions. Playing
Danny Zuko in the Hall Cross musical production of
Grease motivated him to audition for
The X Factor. Tomlinson cites
Robbie Williams as his biggest influence and idol. In an
interview with
Now magazine, he said: "I've always loved Robbie. He's just so cheeky, he can get away with anything. His performances are unbelievable." He also admires
Ed Sheeran, describing him as "phenomenal".
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