Exactly 12 years ago, One Direction was founded by X Factor judges Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh and Nicole Scherzinger.
And to mark the occasion, the former ITV show has shared an unseen video showing how the panel came to the decision to include five solo singers in one group.
In the clip, which was posted to Twitter on Saturday, the judges looked at several headshots of wannabe pop stars and decided to form two groups, a boy band and a girl band, out of the hopefuls.
Unbelievable: To celebrate the 12th anniversary of One Direction’s formation, The X Factor took to Twitter on Saturday to share a close-up video of exactly how the hit boy band was formed
In the clip, which was first filmed in 2010 following the X Factor’s boot camp stages, Simon can ponder which acts should make it to the judges’ houses.
Holding a picture of Niall Horan, he says, “He should be in the group. I’m not saying we will, but I would like to imagine it.”
Nicole, 44, replies, “Let’s do an imaginary boy band instead of just saying no.”
After placing Niall’s picture on the desk, they go through other photos before coming across Harry Styles.
Amazing: Judges Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh and Nicole Scherzinger deliberate on the wannabe pop stars and decide to split the hopefuls into two groups
With his famous curls and side bangs, then 16-year-old Harry Styles was appraised by the jury and immediately received Simon’s seal of approval.
Louis says: “We liked him”
Pussycat Doll singer Nicola seems to have a big part in the decision, and Quicky points out adding Harry to Niall’s stack, making him the second member of the Steal Your Girl band.
‘They’re the cutest boy band ever’: The judges initially settled on Niall Horan, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson, as Nicole gushed, ‘The little girls are gonna love them.’
She says, “Yes, bring him to him,” while Simon agrees, “Absolutely 100% Nicole is right.”
Next in the stack of headshots to go through was Louis Tomlinson, to whom Simon insists, “And he,” to which Louis replies, “They look good together.”
While brunette beauty Nicole gushed: “They are the cutest boy band ever, I love them. The little girls will love them.
‘They look good together’: As the trios pictures were the first of the five that would go on to become the award-winning One Direction, the judges later added Zayn Malik and Liam Payne
“They’re just too talented to throw away, they have the right look and charisma on stage. I think they will be really great in a boy band.
“They’re like little stars and you can’t get rid of little stars, so you put them all together.”
As the trio’s pictures are the first of the five that make up the award-winning One Direction, the judges later added Zayn Malik and Liam Payne.
After reviewing the headshots and coming across Liam, Simon says, “He had an outstanding audition”.
“He’s Going to Shine”: After reviewing the headshots and stumbling upon Liam, Simon says, “He had an outstanding audition,” but wonders if he should be moved to a different group
Wow: After Liam was added to the group, all judges agreed that the boy band looked “amazing” before quickly adding Zayn to the band
Simon later asks if Liam should be transferred to another group, but Nicole interrupts.
She says: “I don’t think so, I think he’s definitely going to shine. He [Liam] could actually be the leader.
Simon adds, “He thinks he’s better than everyone else,” and Louis agreed, “He does Simon, he really has the confidence.”
Exciting: In the clip, Simon can be heard explaining that he eliminated the “Groups” category in order to have the “What Makes You Beautiful” group on his team
It seems Nicole has prevailed again because after adding Liam to the group, all the judges agreed the soon-to-be boy band looked “amazing”.
Added shortly after he left Simon, Zayn stated that he would like the Groups category to have the group on his team.
Celebrating the creation’s 12th birthday, The X Factor captioned the Twitter clip: “If you’ve waited TWELVE YEARS to find out exactly how One Direction was formed! FINALLY, here’s how’.
Global success: One Direction appeared in the seventh season of The X Factor which aired on ITV in late 2010 and finished third behind Matt Cardle
Sensational: The boy band became one of the best-selling boy bands of all time and topped the charts worldwide
One Direction appeared in the seventh season of The X Factor which aired on ITV in late 2010.
While Matt Cardle won the singing competition, One Direction went on to become one of the most successful acts to ever emerge from the former ITV programme.
The boy band became one of the best-selling boy bands of all time, topping charts worldwide.
They are also the first group in US Billboard 200 history to debut at number one with their first four albums.
In early 2015, Zayn left the band and by the end of the year Harry, Niall, Louis and Liam decided to take a hiatus, which continues to this day while pursuing solo careers.
New ventures: In early 2015, Zayn left the band and by the end of the year Harry, Niall, Louis and Liam decided to take a hiatus, which continues to this day while pursuing solo careers