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Was One Direction really formed around Liam Payne? 'X Factor' clip reveals TRUTH

While 1D fans got nostalgic after seeing the unseen clip, many also slammed Payne for claiming that One Direction was formed around him

Iconic boy band One Direction (1D), which now stands disbanded, completed 12 years of its formation on July 23. Marking the special occasion, ‘The X-Factor’ posted a special video to share what exactly went down when the group, which would end up selling more than 70 million records worldwide, was formed.
 
While the 1D fans got nostalgic after seeing the clip, many also dragged the group’s former member Liam Payne over his recent comments in which he claimed that the boy band was formed around him and that he was the honorary member of the squad. The newly-released footage seemed to both rebuke and support the singer's statement, sparking a debate amongst the fans on Twitter over the weekend.
 
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‘He started with my face, and then worked around the rest’

Liam Payne, a month ago on Logan Paul’s podcast ‘Impaulsive’, claimed that judge Simon Cowell started making the boy band with his face revealing that Cowell shared the story himself at his house. “From what I've heard, part of the reason One Direction was made was because of Simon's promise to me that, 'In two years, I'll make this work for you.' So, he started with my face, and then worked around the rest,” said the 28-year-old crooner further stating, “I was the honorary member of One Direction. He told me that story himself at his house."
 
The original members of the boy band were Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, and Liam Payne. They were all picked after their respective solo auditions. They were grouped in season seven of ‘The X-Factor’ and ultimately finished at the third position.

Was One Direction formed around Liam Payne?

The newly released footage slightly deviates from what Liam Payne claimed in the podcast a month ago. The viral clip showed judges Simon Cowell, Nicole Scherzinger, and Louis Walsh shuffling through headshots until they zeroed in on the five members. In the clip, Niall Horan’s photo is the first one to get selected followed by Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson.
 
Next comes Liam Payne which leads to a discussion amongst the judges as he stands out from the rest. Cowell while talking about Payne says, “He was the standout audition. You don't think he should be over there?" separating him from the pile but Scherzinger suggests, "If he's the standout, then he could be the leader," adding, “I think he would definitely shine."

Cowell, who still seems to be unsure, adds, “He thinks he's better than anyone else in that list to which Walsh agrees saying, “That looks good,” putting Payne’s picture with the rest of the three. An excited Scherzinger concludes, “That looks unbelievable."

‘He wasn’t even in the first three’

Social media, upon the confusion, gave a mixed reaction to Liam Payne’s claims. “Liam Payne watching the new x factor video discovering one direction intact was not made revolving around him,” said one user as another chimed in, “The X Factor just proved that one direction started with niall, so i blocked liam payne.”

One user tweeted, “The unseen 1d x factor video just proved all of liams haters wrong, he is a leader, confident, good and consistent.” The next one shared, “Like how Liam Payne said “they built one direction around me. I was the first honorary member” and the X Factor UK said “Hey y’all want to see unseen footage of how they were put together??” and liam was 2nd to last lmfaooooooo.” 

An individual added, “The fact Liam Payne thought the band was formed around him but X Factor pure mugged him off and revealed to the world he wasn’t even in the first 3.” Another fan said, “According to the footage that the X Factor account published about the process of forming one direction, it was proven that Liam Payne only told the truth about his role in the band in his podcast with Logan, and those people who hated him on this matter now owe him an apology.”

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.