The creation of the X-Factor: UK that is One Direction has become a worldwide sensation - having young girls shrieking everywhere they go, selling millions of CDs and downloads of their music, and seeing their faces grace the cover of magazines - but how original is this UK Boy Band?

The fans of these 5 young men do not seem to care that they were an invention of Simon Cowell, the snarky judge formerly of American Idol.  Cowell took these solo candidates for X-Factor: UK and made them a group.  We have seen this on TV before with the likes of The Monkees and Big Time Rush - the difference here is that these guys are not actors ...... well not yet at least.

One Direction has a style that has been done before - 5 good looking young guys who can sing, make girls swoon, and sell millions.  Toward the end of the 80s had New Kids On The Block, toward the end of the 90s had The Backstreet Boys, so now it's One Direction's turn.

You may read this and think I'm bashing these guys, which is not true.  The group has skills , but it needs to see where they have been "creatively borrowing" from.  You could say influences, but it's not like they were together for years - they were thrown together and suddenly famous!

Take a listen and watch One Direction in their new video for "One Thing", which has over 111 MILLION views on YouTube.

Now let's look at these groups One Direction may have "creatively borrowed" from:

1) The Beatles

Every band has at one point been influenced by the Fab 4 - Lady Gaga has said openly how much they have affected her!  Being from the UK, the parents of these teens more than likely played the music of The Beatles.  You will not hear it One Direction, but you can see it in their video as they frolic in the field - very Beatlesque!

2) The Monkees

Created by TV - like One Direction, and these boys stole the Pre-Fab 4's signature left-over-right walk (check out the theme about 6 seconds in for proof).

3) Backstreet Boys

Both groups have 5 members, both groups have alternated singing talent through the group (unlike groups like *N-SYNC or 98 Degrees), the One Thing video features a mode of transportation at the beginning of the video (like I Want It That Way for BSB), One Direction says"you got that one thing" while BSB says "you are my fire, my one desire" (that's pretty close in message), and there is one part of One Thing that is a rip of I Want It That Way (can you find it?)

Again, this is not a knock on One Direction - there is a reason why they are successful, and here may be part of the reason.

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