One Direction covers Kelly Clarkson’s song in never-before-seen video

Nearly eight years after One Direction started their “hiatus,” the boy band’s fans have been gifted a never-before-seen video from one of their “The X Factor UK” performances.

In 2010, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik and Harry Styles auditioned for Season Seven of the singing competition show as solo artists before judges Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh and Nicole Scherzinger put them together in a group. One Direction was born and the boy band moved onto the next stage in the competition: Judges’ Houses.

Cowell was the mentor for the groups category, so One Direction and the rest of the bands traveled to the record executive’s home in Marbella, Spain, where they competed to land a spot in Cowell’s final four.

Directioners have known for years that the group’s first performance together was a cover of Natalie Imbruglia’s version of “Torn.” But on Aug. 30, fans learned that One Direction actually performed a second song for Cowell.

The official YouTube account for the British show uploaded a previously “unseen” video where the boys, who were between the ages of 16 and 18 at the time, sang Kelly Clarkson’s hit “My Life Would Suck Without You.”

In the clip, Payne begins the first verse, Styles sings the chorus, Malik ad-libs and Horan and Tomlinson harmonize.

Cowell and his guest judge, British singer Sinitta, applaud the boys before they anxiously await to hear if they made it to the next round.

Later, they return and Cowell reveals the good news.

“Guys, I’ve gone with my heart. You’re through,” he tells them as the boys immediately cheer and cry happy tears.

Later, host Dermot O’Leary asks the group to describe what the opportunity means to them.

“It’s incredible,” Styles replies while wiping away tears. “It’s the best feeling in my life.”

Payne added, “(I’m) on top of the world, mate. It’s been a long time. I’ve been waiting a long time for that moment.”

One Direction later belted along to “My Life Would Suck Without You” again when they chose the song for their second live show performance.

As fans continue to hope for One Direction to reunite one day, “The X Factor UK” has made them more optimistic by sharing videos. In July 2022, the “X Factor UK” account uploaded another never-before-seen clip to YouTube that included footage of the moment Cowell, Walsh and Scherzinger formed One Direction.

The group ended up placing third on “The X Factor UK” and went on to achieve global success, becoming one of the most popular acts from the show.

Clarkson helped write the song “Tell Me a Lie,” which was a track on One Direction’s first album, “Up All Night.” She also covered their first single, “What Makes You Beautiful,” for “Kellyoke” on her show in 2019.

Earlier this year, Horan appeared on “The Kelly Clarkson Show” and reflected on the group’s time on “The X Factor UK.”

He also revealed that Clarkson thought for years that One Direction won Season Seven. She learned the truth from Horan when they served as coaches on Season 23 of “The Voice.”

“We were doing a skit for ‘The Voice.' I thought One Direction won,” she explained to the audience.

She told Horan, “I mean, because you did, in life.”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com