Niall Horan shot to fame on The X Factor, with the judges deciding to put him into a band along with Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson – and One Direction was born!
Believe it or not, the band came third in the competition, but they went on to release the single, What Makes You Beautiful, in September 2011 and it debuted at No. 1 in the UK charts.
© Kevin MazurThe band have picked up Brit and MTV awards, performed at the Olympics closing ceremony in London, embarked on huge tours and even sang for the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Niall has gone on to have a solo career, with multiple solo albums, and he is now a coach on The Voice having a full circle moment considering his reality show past.
Niall Horan's childhood
Irish star Niall was born in County Westmeath, Ireland on 14 September 1993. When he was five his parents divorced, and Niall and his older brother Greg decided to live with their dad so they could also stay close to their friends. He attended Coláiste Mhuire, a boys' Christian Brothers school – but when he wasn't studying, he was working hard on his music. He was just 16 when he auditioned on The X Factor.
