Zayn Malik
In 2010, Zayn Malik went from being just a regular bloke who liked to sing and decided to audition in Manchester for the seventh installment of The X Factor to one-fifth of a global phenomenon. Malik was cut before the final round of competition but judges Simon Cowell and Nicole Scherzinger grouped him with fellow eliminated competitors Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson and boy band One Direction was formed. Although they finished in third place, Cowell signed them to his record label and their first single "What Makes You Beautiful" topped the U.K. charts in September 2011. Their debut album Up All Night was a best-seller there and in the U.S. in 2012 and they basically toured, made appearances on TV shows and recorded for the next three years straight. In March 2015, he rocked the worlds of their devoted female fans by announcing he was leaving the group. They decided to go on without him while he has announced plans for a solo CD. His tattoos, dyed pompadour and mischievous behavior got him labeled the resident bad boy and he took that nickname to heart in his love life. He dated at least three X Factor contestants including Little Mix member Perrie Edwards, to whom he became engaged in August 2013. He broke up with her five months after the band.
