It’s widely known that One Direction (Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, and Liam Payne) formed on The X Factor UK, but there has some debate about how the singers were actually grouped together during the show’s tenth season in 2013.
Both Simon Cowell and judge (and Pussycat Dolls member) Nicole Scherzinger have claimed credit for forming 1D. In a 2013 appearance on the group’s 1D Day webcast, Cowell said, “It was my idea [to put you guys together]. It was really weird. I just said, ‘Why don’t we put these guys into a group?’ It took 10 minutes!” In a 2014 interview, Scherzinger said, “I’m happy for their success. I can’t believe I put together the group and then I’m at Walmart buying One Direction bags for my nieces. Like, something is wrong with this picture! […] Where’s my cut? Seriously? I’m a giver, what can I say? I gave the world One Direction.”
Now, though, some recently shared old footage adds merit to Scherzinger’s insistence that she deserves more credit.
In July, The X Factor UK shared previously unreleased video of Cowell, Scherzinger, and Louis Walsh looking over a table of X Factor contestant photos, deciding who should advance in the competition. In the conversation, Scherzinger proposes, “Let’s do an imaginary boy band […] instead of just saying ‘no.’” From there, they look through the photos and eventually settle on the five-piece that would go on to make their mark in the pop world.
Nicole Scherzinger talks to Sherri about the new footage that shows she formed One Direction in 2010. https://t.co/tgMb57eRnO
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) September 20, 2022
Scherzinger discussed the clip in a recent interview with Sherri Shepherd on Sherri, saying, “It’s kind of crazy, Sherri. Honestly, I never thought this footage would see the light of day. I thought Simon burned it [laughs]. And it’s really cool that it came out because what people are actually seeing is me actually putting them together […] and being like, ‘Look, I just came out of a girl group, I know how successful and powerful it can be to be a group, we gotta join forces.’ It’s amazing to think… we didn’t have anything at that time, so I’m super proud that I got to play a small part — or a big part […] They made history, right? To be a small part of history.”