One Direction
In 2010, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson auditioned as solo candidates for the seventh series of the British televised singing competition The X Factor. They failed to progress to the "Boys" category at "judges' houses" but were put together to form a five-piece boy band at Wembley Arena, in London, England, in July 2010, during the "bootcamp" stage of the competition, thus qualifying for the "Groups" category.One Direction finished in third place and immediately after the final, their song "Forever Young", which would have been released if they had won The X Factor, was leaked onto the internet.
Little Mix
In 2011, Perrie Edwards, Jade Thirlwall, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jesy Nelson successfully auditioned as soloists for the eighth series of The X Factor, but failed to make it past bootcamp's first challenge. However, the judges decided to give them another chance in the Groups category. They were put into separate ensembles by the judges during the group's bootcamp stage, with Edwards and Nelson in four-member group Faux Pas and Thirlwall and Pinnock in three-member group Orion. However, both groups failed to make it through to the judges' houses. A later decision recalled two members from each group to form the four-piece group Rhythmix, sending them through to the judges' houses.
