Niall Horan recreates cringe-worthy first ‘X Factor’ audition
The singer was just 16 at the time
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MUSIC Niall horan
Niall Horan was just 16 when he auditioned for ‘The X Factor’ in 2010. Fast forward eight years, and Horan is a global star, with chart-topping singles around the world. However, Horan was not able to escape his beginnings in a new interview.
The singer sat down with Nick Grimshaw on BBC Radio 1, facing tough questions about his career beginnings. “I’ve never seen you guys do your original auditions, like I never watched it back”, said Grimshaw. When he heard that, Niall had his head in his hands, knowing what was to come. “Don’t put your head in your hands it’s a key moment”, said Nick. “Can you not play it now?”, pleaded Niall. “No, we’re gonna play it now”, confirmed the host.
We're pretty sure @NiallOfficial *loved* reliving his first X Factor audition ????????
— BBC Radio 1 (@BBCR1) 14 June 2018
But can he still remember the lyrics to @NeYoCompound's 'So Sick'? pic.twitter.com/ekvRg0V3lG
Then, Nick played Nile’s first audition, where he sang ‘So Sick’ by Ne-Yo. “Who made me sing this song? Me, I picked this song, I love this song but...”, Horan jokes. The singer was challenged to remember the lyrics. Despite some obvious nerves, Horan powered through hitting all the right notes. “I’ve just written a folky type album and I sang that as my first audition, dressed as a tablecloth”, Niall laughed. His debut album, ‘Flicker’, was released last October. The record abandoned One Direction's poppy sound, and went in a more acoustic and folk-inspired direction.