C. H. Mitford - Harry Styles

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Ebook ISBN 9780593383865

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1

STYLES IN EVERY DIRECTION

Everyone knows that Harry began his career in One Direction... or did he?! The name of his first band is super ironic considering the charmed career of charming Harry Stylesbecause in addition to skyrocketing, his career has gone in many directions!

When Harry first appeared on The X Factor, he was voted off! Can you even? He was only sixteen years old and auditioned at Manchester Central. He sang an enchanting rendition of Stevie Wonders Isnt She Lovely, which judge Nicole Scherzinger loved. But another judge, Louis Walsh, didnt think he was ready for the big-time competition. So he was sent to boot camp, and still he failed to qualify for the Boys category.

But guess who else also failed?

One hundred percent correct: Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, and Zayn Malik.

The mind reels. Weve all seen the clip of Harrys audition. He rocked it. His charm beams through the camera, and his voice is practically perfect. To not even get a spot? What were they thinking? Or was it all a ruse to keep viewers tuned in until they sorted out exactly what to do with these five adorbs guys who were clearly talented out the wazoo?

Heres the thing of it: Have you ever played a game of Simon Says? And wondered who the heck was Simon that he got to tell everyone what to do? Us too.

ON SIMON SAYS!

• The game Simon Says is centuries old.
• How old? Well, the saying was originally Cicero dicit fac hocLatin for Cicero says do this.
• In ancient Rome, it was in your best interest to do what statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero told you to do.
• It changed to Simon when a thirteenth-century French-English nobleman named Simon de Montfort got so much power that he even put King Henry III in prison.

By now, youre probably wondering why in the world were bringing this up, as the Simon of The X Factor was born centuries after the playground game became a thang. But trust us as we throw back to the twenty-first century to tell you theres a reason Simon Cowell is Simon Cowell. And we should all do what he says because the man knows his business! Although the boys didnt progress as solo acts, Simon says (see what we did there?), It was really weird. I just said, Why dont we put these guys into a group? It took ten minutes! Rightly, Simon thought they were too talented to let go of.

But wait! We have SCOOP! drama! Was it Simon Cowell or Nicole Scherzinger who had the idea to put them together?!?! They both make that claim to fame! We already know that Simon said it took him ten minutes to realize they were perfect for forming a group, but Nicole says it was her idea. I just thought: Wow, these boys! None of them were strong enough to make [it] through, but theyd make a killer group, Nicole said. Then she added quite the endnote: I think they said the footage of me suggesting it mysteriously disappeared.

Well, were not going to quibble about exactly who said it first, because anyone who took one look at that group of guys could tell they would knock it out of the park.

It was Harry who came up with the idea to name the group One Direction, naturally. He was also the one who came up with the name for his high school band, White Eskimo. Hes just that kind of guy, you know? Wit, charm, and lots of good energy have brought Mr. Styles far. Its as if he was born with those qualities. In fact, his mum, Anne, fessed up that, Ever since he was young hes made people smile. I always thought hed end up on the stage.

Whats hard to believe is that during their first year on The X Factor, One Direction came in third behind Rebecca Ferguson and Matt Cardle. Whats NOT hard to believe is that the 1D boys were the life and soul of The X Factor that season! Sources say the boys were always up to something, one off hiding in a cupboard, another off trying on clothes, full of hijinks and fun. Of course, Harry stood out as the star and was adored by all.

Heres the SCOOP! on Harry. The 1D boys all shared a house the year they were on the show. The first night they moved in was mellow. They played music and Ping-Pong with lots of room downstairs, but the sleeping quarters were tight! Each band member had some interesting quirks the others had to get used to. LOL. For example, Louis was extremely messy, and our dear Hazza not only snored but talked in his sleep! We wish theyd been recording because wed love to know what he had to say.

Even though 1D came in third place, Simon Cowell called them to his office and offered them a $2 million recording contract with Syco Music in December 2010. Interesting that first-place winner Cardle was only offered a $1 million contract. Again, listen to what Simon says. He knows the international market!

We know that you know what happened from here, but its too awesome not to recap!

Simon brought these five young men to the US, and they began recording with producer RedOne.

The anticipation for their first music video reached fever pitch because initially only the lyrics for their debut song, What Makes You Beautiful, were released on YouTube. The group filmed the corresponding video in Malibu, and they teased its release with each member of the group having his chance to announce how many days were left until it dropped. And when it did come out? Mayhem!