Zsdf

Zsd
F
Szd
F

Ny
U
Mt
Yum
yumHarry Edward Styles[2] (born 1 February 1994)[3][4] is an English singer and songwriter, known as
a member of the boy band One Direction. He made his debut as a singer with his band White
Eskimo, who performed locally in Holmes Chapel, Cheshire. In 2010, Styles auditioned as a solo
artist for the British television series The X Factor. After being eliminated as a solo performer, Styles
was brought back into the competition, along with four other contestants, to form the group that
would later become known as One Direction.
Since joining One Direction, Styles, along with bandmates Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam
Payne and Louis Tomlinson, has released five commercially successful albums, performed on two
worldwide tours, and won several awards, including five Brit Awards and fourMTV Video Music
Awards. One Direction's debut single "What Makes You Beautiful" debuted at number one on the UK
Singles Chart, and has since sold over 5 million copies worldwide, making it among the best-selling
singles of all time. In addition to singing, Styles has also appeared in television and film, including
the Nickelodeon series iCarly and the concert film One Direction: This Is Us.
Contents
[hide]

1Early life

2Music career
o

2.1The X Factor

2.2One Direction

3Acting

4Personal life

5Filmography

6Discography

7Songwriting credits

8Awards and nominations

9References

10Further reading

11External links

Early life
Styles was born in Redditch, Worcestershire.[1][5][6] He is the son of Anne Cox (ne Selley) and
Desmond "Des" Styles.[7][8][9][10] Many of his ancestors were farm labourers in Norfolk.[11] Styles was
raised in Holmes Chapel, Cheshire, after his parents moved there along with his older sister,
Gemma,[12] when he was a child.[2] He attended Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School.[13] Styles's
parents divorced when he was seven and his mother later remarried. [14] As a sixteen-year-old he
worked part-time at the W. Mandeville Bakery in Holmes Chapel. [15]
As a child, Styles loved singing, noting Freddie Mercury, Elvis Presley and The Beatles as his
influences.[16] While at Holmes Chapel Comprehensive, Styles was the lead singer for the band White
Eskimo,[17] which won a local Battle of the Bands competition.[15]

Music career
The X Factor

One Direction on The X Factor Live Tour in 2011

On 11 April 2010, Styles auditioned as a solo candidate for the seventh series of the British televised
singing competition The X Factor.[18]He failed to progress to the "Boys" category at "judges' houses."
Four others in his age group did as well, but after a suggestion by Nicole Scherzinger, a guest judge,
[18]

they were put together to form a five-piece boy band at Wembley Arena, in London, England, in

July 2010, during the "bootcamp" stage of the competition,[19] thus qualifying for the "Groups"
category. Subsequently, the group got together for two weeks to get to know one another and to
practise.[20][21] Styles came up with the name One Direction.[20] For their qualifying song at "judges'
houses", and their first song as a group, One Direction sang an acoustic version of "Torn".[22] Simon
Cowell later commented that the performance convinced him that the group "were confident, fun, like
a gang of friends, and kind of fearless as well."[23] Within the first four weeks of the live shows, they
were Cowell's last act in the competition.[24] The group quickly gained popularity in the UK.[23]
One Direction finished in third place and immediately after the final, their song "Forever Young",
which would have been released if they had won The X Factor, was leaked onto the internet.
[25]

Shortly afterwards it was confirmed that One Direction had been signed by Cowell to a

reported 2 million Syco Records record contract.[26][27] Recording for their debut album began in
January 2011, as they flew to Los Angeles to work with RedOne, a record producer.[28] A book
licensed by One Direction, One Direction: Forever Young (Our Official X Factor Story), was
published byHarperCollins in February 2011,[29] subsequently topping The Sunday Times Best Seller
list.[30] The same month, the boy band and other contestants from the series participated in the X
Factor Live Tour.[31] During the tour the group performed for 500,000 people throughout the UK.
[32]

After the tour concluded in April 2011, the group continued working on their debut album.

[28]

Recording took place in Stockholm, London and Los Angeles, as One Direction worked with

producers Carl Falk, Savan Kotecha, Steve Mac, and Rami Yacoub, among others.[33][34] Styles came
up with band name One Direction, which he thought would sound good when The X
Factor announcer Peter Dickson read their name out on the live shows.[35]