Niall Horan Looks Back at How Katy Perry Saved Him on ‘X Factor UK’
Photo by Lester Cohen/WireImage Reading Time: 3 minutes
For those who may not know, pop superstar Katy Perry played a pivotal role in Niall Horan’s origin story. Horan recently reflected on this interesting memory, saying that he wouldn’t have made it to stardom if Perry didn’t give him a chance on The X Factor UK.
Niall Horan Tells Orlando Bloom He “Would Not Be Here” If Katy Perry Passed on Him on The X Factor
In a recent episode of The Late Late Show with James Corden, Niall Horan joined Orlando Bloom for a joint interview. Elsewhere in the conversation, the talk show host mentioned that Perry was the guest judge on The X Factor UK 2010, who remarkably made Horan advance in the competition. The former One Direction member was able to recall each moment from his audition.
“The whole time I’m walking onto the stage, and I’m just thinking like, ‘That’s Katy Perry. That’s Simon Cowell.’ The whole thing, it looked like a postcard,” he said.
According to the singer, his first time on The X Factor UK felt surreal. Horan knew how explosive of a name Perry was at the time. With that, he was “blown away” to see her in person.
Back in his audition, Horan chose to sing Ne-Yo’s “So Sick.” Cowell gave him a “yes,” but Judge Cheryl Cole passed on him. This situation had put him in a risky position to get eliminated, but Perry made the final call to let him in.
“She saves me,” he said. “And it was just mind boggling. Little did I know what was to come afterwards. But if it wasn’t for Katy… When we see each other still we have an embrace of thanks.”
Intently listening to Horan, Bloom responded to the short story with a big smile on his face. The actor is evidently proud with the wonders that his fiancé and “baby mama” did for the singer.
Harry Styles Gives Special Shoutout to One Direction at the 2023 BRIT Awards
Horan is not the only One Direction member that recently recalled his journey from The X Factor. During the 2023 BRIT Awards in London, Harry Styles particularly expressed his appreciation for the people who were with him when his music career began.
“I want to thank my mum for signing me up for X Factor without telling me, so, I literally wouldn’t be here without you,” he said. “I want to thank Niall, Louis, Liam and Zayn, because I wouldn’t be here without you either. Thank you so much.”
In the awards night, Styles won Album of the Year for Harry’s House. He also bagged trophies for Song of the Year for “As It Was,” Pop/R&B Act and Artist of the Year. According to the singer, these awards slightly served as validation that he’s on the “right path.”
