The globally successful band that included Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Zayn Malik were first formed on Cowell's reality show, 'The X-Factor', in 2010.

"X-Factor" creator Simon Cowell broke his silence on the death of his former protege and One Direction singer Liam Payne.

Simon Cowell has said in a statement that he is "truly devastated" over Liam Payne's death. The music mogul helped put together One Direction in 2010 on The X Factor, and was involved in turning the boyband into one of the biggest-selling music acts of their era.