Jai McDowall

Jai McDowall (born 24 July 1986) is a Scottish singer–songwriter who is currently a member of the band G4, who won the fifth series of Britain's Got Talent in June 2011.

McDowall auditioned for The American Idol Experience whilst on holiday in the US in 2009, and won.

He also auditioned for The X Factor in 2010 and reached boot camp but lost out on a place in the live shows.

McDowall auditioned in Liverpool for the fifth series of Britain's Got Talent with "Anthem" from Chess, receiving very positive comments from all of the three judges, Michael McIntyre, Amanda Holden and David Hasselhoff.

He received three yesses and was put through to the next round, and through to the live semi-finals.

As the winner, he received £100,000 and performed at the 2011 Royal Variety Performance.

McDowall was signed to Syco Music, a subdivision of record label giant, Sony Music.

His debut album Believe was released on 9 December 2011.

The lead single "With or Without You" was released the same day.

McDowall performed for a second time in the semi-final on 2 June 2011, singing "Bring Me to Life" by Evanescence.

He once again received positive comments from the judges including Cowell.

McDowall received the highest number of votes on the night and was automatically put through to the final.

In the final, McDowall performed "To Where You Are" by Josh Groban.

He once again received positive comments from all four judges, despite some criticism from judge Simon Cowell, who stated that the vocal was 'monotone'.

This comment was acknowledged by McDowall.

During the result, Simon later complimented McDowall on his rendition of the song after he had won the top prize of £100,000.

McDowall was announced as the winner with 29.1% of the vote, approximately 4.1 million, which proved a shock as he beat bookies' favourite Ronan Parke.

It was later revealed on Britain's Got More Talent that there was a margin of 2.4% of the vote, approximately 86,000, between McDowall and runner-up Ronan Parke.

He won £100,000 and a spot at the 2011 Royal Variety Performance.

After winning Britain's Got Talent, McDowall performed on the Britain's Got Talent Tour.

Starting in Newcastle and moving through 3 Scottish cities Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Glasgow before heading through England and appearing in the major venues in most major cities.

He performed at the 2011 Glasgow Show on Glasgow Green in front of 20,000 people, headlining the Sunday show along with Re-Take That and other guests.

In August 2011, he secured a record deal with Syco and Sony Music to be released in December 2011.

In October 2011, McDowall performed a sell out headline show at the Grand Hall, Kilmarnock.

He also headlined the end of season shows at the main Butlins sites during the October Holiday Break before appearing in the Royal Variety show.

McDowall was also invited to sing with Josh Groban in the Royal Concert Hall in his performance of "To Where You Are" and they both received a standing ovation for their rendition of Groban's hit song.

On 3 October 2011, it was confirmed that McDowall, as well as Sony Music Entertainment and Syco Music to promote his debut album, has also hired Soundcheck Entertainment to aid in the promotion of the forthcoming the album which was released in December 2011.

McDowall announced on 26 October that the album would be titled Believe and would be released on 12 December.

Jai explained: "Being in the studio was everything I hoped it would be and I loved the whole creative process. I like the style of singing I did on Britain's Got Talent – a kind of mix of musical and pop – so we’re working along those lines."

In March 2012, he was dropped by Syco after poor sales of his debut album.

It was reported that the singer claimed that Syco boss, Simon Cowell, was anti-Scottish.

He later released two extended plays, Christmas With... and Cry, Home, Closer on digital download format.

In 2012, it was misreported that McDowall called Simon Cowell 'anti-Scottish' in a news article.

Reacting to the story, Cowell defended himself on Britain's Got More Talent saying that his mother was Scottish and reminded McDowall that he signed and still works with Susan Boyle who is Scottish.

Before Britain's Got Talent, he appeared as a contestant on The X Factor and The American Idol Experience.

His 2013 single "Won't Forget", featuring the Clutha Appeal, was released following the helicopter crash at the Clutha bar in Glasgow, and reaching number seventeen on the Scottish Singles Charts.

McDowall was raised in Tarbolton in Ayrshire, Scotland where he worked as a support worker prior to winning Britain's Got Talent.

He was a member of the Ayr Amateur Opera Company and Loudoun Musical Society.

He played roles such as Frank in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and Motel in Fiddler on the Roof.

Before his job of looking after young people with disabilities, McDowall spent two years studying Music and Audio Technology (NC & HNC) at Music and Sound Production Dept, Ayr College, Scotland.