Niall Horan

Early Life
Niall was born in Mullingar, County Westmeath, Republic of Ireland to Bobby Horan and Maura. He has an older brother named Greg. Their parents divorced in 1998 when Niall was five years old. He lived in both parents' homes before finally settling with his dad. He felt that living in Mullingar was the easiest thing to do at the time, because his friends were there. Niall's stepfather is from England and has family there.

Niall was a pupil at Coláiste Mhuire, Mullingar, a boys' Christian Brothers school. He has been playing guitar since he was around eleven years old, and performed around his homeland, including as a support act for Lloyd Daniels in Dublin.

Personality
Niall has a great sense of humour, and everyone loves him. He constantly messes around with Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson.

Music career
In 2010, at sixteen years old, Niall auditioned for the seventh series of The X Factor in Dublin. He sang "So Sick" and received mixed comments from the judges. Louis Walsh was in his favor, but Cheryl Cole and guest judge Katy Perry felt he needed some time to grow. Simon voted to let him through, Cheryl said no, and Louis quickly added in his yes, and left Niall's fate up to Katy. She decided to vote yes, and Niall was put through to bootcamp. At bootcamp, Niall sang "Champagne Supernova" but failed to qualify for the "Boys" category. After a suggestion from guest judge Nicole Scherzinger, Niall was put into a group with four other boys who also failed to move on in the competition. Niall along with Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, and Zayn Malik formed One Direction.

Following The X Factor, One Direction signed a record contract with Sony Music subsidiary Syco Music. They released their studio album, Up All Night.