Fans ofOne Directioncan finally see more than a glimpse ofLouis Tomlinson’s The XFactor UKaudition thanks to the release of a new extended cut.
A new clip released Wednesday, however, shows that he actually kicked things off with a different song — and only changed his tune at the request of judgeSimon Cowell.
“I love singing and this means so much to me, I just want to give it my best,” Tomlinson, then 18, tells judges Cowell, Louis Walsh andNicole Scherzinger.
Tomlinson makes it through a verse and a chorus before Cowell stops the track and asks for another song, at which point the star begins “Hey There Delilah.”
Louis Tomlinson.Nigel Waldron/Splash News Online
Though Cowell assures him his second choice is a “much better song,” Tomlinson admits that his nerves have gotten the best of him as each judge takes a moment to offer their critiques. “I’m so nervous,” he exclaimed.
“Look, you know what, you’re actually doing well, which is why we asked you to do a second song, right? So this is a better song for you,” Cowell tells him.
Scherzinger, meanwhile, gives the teen an enthusiastic thumbs up, but notices he looks “defeated.”
“Yeah, I can do so much better than that, honestly,” the star, now 30, says. “Please just give me a chance.”
The Pussycat Dolls alum eventually gives her seal of approval, saying: “I didn’t really need you to be walking around the stage so much when you were singing because honestly, Louis, I really do believe you when you’re singing, and I think that you have an amazing connection with music. So I just want you to stand there and to sing for us. But you know, I’m really happy I got to hear that second song because I really like you.”
Though Tomlinson eventually made it through with three yeses, he was ultimately eliminated from the competition as a solo artist before being brought back to form One Direction alongsideHarry Styles,Niall Horan,Liam PayneandZayn Malik.
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As a band, the group placed third on the show, and went on to release five studio albums together before announcing an extended hiatus in 2015.
Over the last month,X Factor UKhas been releasingextended cuts of all five members' auditions, starting with Harry Styles.
Tomlinson, Styles, Horan, Payne and Malik have each gone on to launch solo careers, and Tomlinson releasedWalls, his debut studio album, in 2020.
The singer said in a recent interview that heremembers his time in One Direction fondlyand is “immensely proud” of his time with the group.
“I mean, it was an incredible thing to do and especially at such a young age,” he told Australian talk showThe Project. “Amazing memories, man, amazing.”
source: people.com
