Liam Payne

Liam Payne's road to success was begun at his preteen, during when he explored his interest in music as well as acting. By the age of 12, he performed with a local theater performance group called Pink Productions and he also once performed at a Wolverhampton Wanderers football match in front of 26,000 crowds. He then enrolled in the City of Wolverhampton College to study music technology.

In 2008, Liam auditioned for "The X Factor" but only made it to Top 24 before being eliminated. At that time, he was told by Simon Cowell to come back to the show in two years because the judge thought he was not ready for the competition. When Liam auditioned again in 2010, he earned praise from the judges with his rendition of "Cry Me a River". Eliminated before the show's final round, he was picked by Cowell to be teamed up with Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, and Louis Tomlinson as One Direction. This time performing as a group, the fivesome won third spot and immediately scooped a recording deal with Cowell's Syco music label.

Following the success of the band's debut single "What Makes You Beautiful", which was released in September 2011, Liam, Harry, Niall, Zayn, and Loius became a household name with legions of fans in the UK and abroad. One Direction subsequently became world phenomenon with their first album "Up All Night" debuting at No. 1 on the US Billboard charts. The band's second and third records "Take Me Home" (2012) and "Midnight Memories" (2013) also became best-selling in the market.

Liam was originally born Liam James Payne on August 29, 1993. Born three weeks early, he used to have 32 injections in his arm in the morning and evening as a child because one of his kidneys was scarred and dysfunctional. He has been dating fellow "The X Factor" contestant Danielle Peazer from 2010.