One Direction 'What Makes You Beautiful' SNL Performance [VIDEO]

One Direction, known as 1D to their legions of fans (who call themselves directions) performed on Saturday Night Live on April 7 in the middle of a North America Tour. Check out the above video of the band singing their hit single What Makes You Beautiful.

The episode of SNL was hosted by Sofia Vergara, who stars in the popular family sitcom Modern Family.

One Direction was formed on the British music competition television show, X-Factor. The show was created by Simon Cowell after he left his position as an American Idol judge and launched his own show. Which has been running for a number of years in England and is heading into its second season in the USA, possibly with R&B star Rihanna as a new judge. X-Factor has become a TV franchise, with national versions airing in many countries around the world.

One of the key differences between Idol and X-Factor is that on Cowell's newer show contestants are often made to perform together as a collective group, which is where One Direction got their start under Cowell's guidance. The UK boy band, which has British and Irish members, failed to win 1st place on X-Factor, but recently took home a trophy at the Brit awards, where Adele and Rihanna also won awards of their own.

What did you think of One Direction's SNL performance? Are 1D just the latest fad or the start a new British pop music invasion? Tell us in the comments.