The full version of Harry Style’s audition on The X Factor is available for viewing online.
A video showing never-seen-before footage of how One Direction were formed during the course of the 2010 season has been released on YouTube.
Judging by the audition tape, it wasn't smooth sailing for Styles.
Where the broadcast version had him and judges grinning after a successful take of Stevie Wonder’s Isn’t She Lovely, the full version revealed this was a second attempt for the soon to be pop star.
Styles's initial audition entry had him singing on top of an instrumental version of Hey, Soul Sister by Train.
Unconvinced with the approach, judge and music mogul Simon Cowell demanded another track sung acapella.
“I don’t know whether it’s the track that’s throwing you, but can I hear something just you, without any music?" he queried before Styles launched into a more confident version of the Wonder classic.
Such moments maybe in the distant memory of Styles, with a stratospheric career that included a recent landmark performance at the Coachella festival.
However, the footage proves some of the biggest stars began inauspiciously and the nerve-wracking audition process is not for everyone.
That being said, a number of artists went on to seize the moment and left an impression that continues to resonate today.
From Kelly Clarkson and Adam Lambert to Susan Boyle and Kodi Lee, here are nine talent show musical contestants delivering some of the greatest ever television auditions.
1. Kelly Clarkson, 'American Idol' (2002)
"I want to win 'American Idol' because I like to perform," said Clarkson, then only 20, in her initial audition video as part of American Idol's inaugural edition.
After being rejected by a number of US record labels, the talent show was viewed as a last roll of a dice for a potential career in show business.
That grit and desperation to succeed was all over her first performance of Madonna's 1989 hit Express Yourself.
Clarkson's eventual victory was not only a modern pop cultural milestone, but resulted in a glowing career including releasing nine albums, hosting her own TV talk show (The Kelly Clarkson Show) and influencing a new generation of female pop stars including Demi Lovato, Jordin Sparks and Ava Max.
2. Carrie Underwood, 'American Idol' (2005)
The American was a country music star in the making with her cover of Bonnie Raitt's I Can't Make You Love Me for her audition on American Idol.
In typically understated fashion, Cowell declared her startling acapella performance as merely “very good”.
It was the beginning of a journey leading Underwood to winning the competition, world tours and becoming the country singer to have won the most industry awards in history.
Her trophy mantle includes eight Grammy Awards, 12 Billboard Music Awards, 16 Academy of Country Music Awards and 17 American Music Awards.
3. Susan Boyle, 'Britain's Got Talent' (2009)
Susan Boyle's audition on Britain's Got Talent is the reason TV shows of this format were launched.
Quiet and eccentric, she shuffled onto stage and blew the roof off with an epic cover of musical standard I Dreamed a Dream.
Boyle became an instant star; she, unsurprisingly, went onto win the series.
In the years since, she has released seven albums, sold out theatres across the UK and the US, in addition to performing at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony.
4. Adam Lambert, 'American Idol' (2009)
It takes a certain amount of confidence to belt out Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody as part of your American Idol audition, but US singer Adam Lambert cut a cool figure at only 19.
While coming second place, Lambert won the prize of a lifetime after being chosen to tour with some of the surviving members of Queen (under the name Queen + Adam Lambert) and releasing two live albums under the project.
5. James Arthur, 'The X Factor' (2012)
Looking like he strolled into the studio after a spot of street busking, the husky voiced Brit, who spent part of his childhood in Bahrain, made an immediate impact with a rendition of Young by English singer Tulisa.
With Take That singer and judge Gary Barlow praising the performance, Arthur went from strength to strength and eventually won the competition.
Arthur went onto release four albums including last year's pandemic-inspired It's All Make Sense in the End.
6. Harrison Craig, 'The Voice Australia' (2013)
When you know, you know.
It only took soul music star Seal about 20 seconds to press the buzzer in his successful bid to mentor The Voice Australia winner Harrison Craig.
What made the audition more impressive was star mentors Ricky Martin and Joel Madden also offered their services to the Aussie singer, before Harrison eventually settled on Seal.
It was a wise choice with Seal guiding Craig to glory and realising the dream of being a full-time recording and performing artist.
7. J-Sol, 'The X Factor' (2018)
You don't have to win or make the final rounds of a big talent show to make a global impression.
This is what happened when British-Nigerian singer J-Sol auditioned with original song, Bullet in My Heart, which left judges Ayda Field and Louis Tomlinson in tears.
While leaving in the earlier stages of the competition, J-Sol remains an active performer in the UK.
8. Mennel Ibtissem, 'The Voice France' (2018)
French-Arab singer Mennel Ibtissem caused headlines both in France and the region after her spellbinding blind audition of Leonard's Cohen spiritual ode Hallelujah, which included English and Arabic lyrics.
An early favourite to win the competition, Ibtissem controversially withdrew from the show after an uproar surrounding old social media posts in which she declared her support for Palestine and where she criticised the French government.
9. Kodi Lee, 'America's Got Talent' (2019)
One of the all-time great America's Got Talent auditions.
Blind, autistic and a prodigious musical savant, the Korean-American sat behind a piano and delivered a riveting and devastatingly beautiful take of Leon Russell's A Song for You.
Lee's audition amassed over 50 million views within weeks, proving the ageing show still has a lot of life yet.
Lee stormed through to win the series and is presently headlining the America's Got Talent Live residency show at the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Vaccine Progress in the Middle East
Non-oil%20trade
%3Cp%3ENon-oil%20trade%20between%20the%20UAE%20and%20Japan%20grew%20by%2034%20per%20cent%20over%20the%20past%20two%20years%2C%20according%20to%20data%20from%20the%20Federal%20Competitiveness%20and%20Statistics%20Centre.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIn%2010%20years%2C%20it%20has%20reached%20a%20total%20of%20Dh524.4%20billion.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ECars%20topped%20the%20list%20of%20the%20top%20five%20commodities%20re-exported%20to%20Japan%20in%202022%2C%20with%20a%20value%20of%20Dh1.3%20billion.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EJewellery%20and%20ornaments%20amounted%20to%20Dh150%20million%20while%20precious%20metal%20scraps%20amounted%20to%20Dh105%20million.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERaw%20aluminium%20was%20ranked%20first%20among%20the%20top%20five%20commodities%20exported%20to%20Japan.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ETop%20of%20the%20list%20of%20commodities%20imported%20from%20Japan%20in%202022%20was%20cars%2C%20with%20a%20value%20of%20Dh20.08%20billion.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Closing the loophole on sugary drinks
As The National reported last year, non-fizzy sugared drinks were not covered when the original tax was introduced in 2017. Sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, 20 grams of sugar per 500ml bottle.
The non-fizzy drink AriZona Iced Tea contains 65 grams of sugar – about 16 teaspoons – per 680ml can. The average can costs about Dh6, which would rise to Dh9.
Drinks such as Starbucks Bottled Mocha Frappuccino contain 31g of sugar in 270ml, while Nescafe Mocha in a can contains 15.6g of sugar in a 240ml can.
Flavoured water, long-life fruit juice concentrates, pre-packaged sweetened coffee drinks fall under the ‘sweetened drink’ category
Not taxed:
Freshly squeezed fruit juices, ground coffee beans, tea leaves and pre-prepared flavoured milkshakes do not come under the ‘sweetened drink’ band.
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
THE DETAILS
Kaala
Dir: Pa. Ranjith
Starring: Rajinikanth, Huma Qureshi, Easwari Rao, Nana Patekar
Rating: 1.5/5
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