At his audition for The X Factor in 2010, Niall Horan boasted that he could be as big as Justin Bieber..
“Are you like an Irish Justin Bieber?” asked judge Louis Walsh. Horan replied: “I reckon so.”
Only 16 when he appeared on the UK competition show, Horan described himself as “upbeat” and “ready to fill arenas around the world [and] sell albums.”
In previously unseen footage posted online last week, Horan tried to impress the judges with an a cappella version of Usher’s “You Got it Bad.”
At the urging of guest judge Katy Perry, he also sang a bit of Ne-Yo’s “So Sick.”
Perry opined that Horan needed more time. “Sometimes you just need to learn more and you’re almost there,” she said. “You’ve got it, it’s cute.”
Simon Cowell agreed and thought Horan was too cocky. “You’d be quite good," he said. "You came in, Niall, unprepared and you thought you were going to walk this.”
After his shaky audition, Horan was asked by Perry if he thought he was as good as Bieber. “No,” he replied. “But I try to be as good.” But when Cowell asked he same question, Horan replied: “Yes.”
The X Factor previously released extended cuts of auditions by Horan's eventual One Direction mates Harry Styles, Zayn Malik and Liam Payne.
Last month, it shared footage of the judges putting Horan and four other hopefuls together.
“They’re the cutest boy band ever,” Nicole Scherzinger said. “I love it!”
One Direction went on to become a global phenomenon and released five studio albums between 2011 and 2015 that spawned hits like “What Makes You Beautiful,” “Story of My Life” and “Best Song Ever.”
Horan, 28, has released two studio albums since One Direction went on hiatus in 2015.
Watch Horan’s extended audition below: