WATCH: 'One Direction' perform at the 'X Factor' finale

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'One Direction', the British boy-band that Simon Cowell created on The X Factor UK two years ago, made a special appearance during last night's X Factor season finale as living proof that you don't need to win the show to have a stellar career in music.

Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson came in third place when they participated in the show in 2010 (just as Cowell's Fifth Harmony did this year) and went on take the world by storm with their catchy sounds and fun hair styles. This year the boys were crowned Billboard's Top New Artist of 2012.

For last night's performance the band sang the third single of their second album, "Kiss You" in a colorful video-game styled stage decorated with a bright set of red lips (a la Rolling Stones minus the tongue) right before the winner of the night was announced.

Later that night Styles offered his congratulations and good luck to the band's female counterpart, 'Fifth Harmony' via Twitter. Only time will tell if history will repeat itself with this all-girl group that seems to be closely following in One Direction's footsteps.

If you missed the boys' performance or if you'd like to watch it again, here's how it went.