Jai McDowall is a singer who was the winner of Series 5 of Britain's Got Talent. He was 24 at the time of his audition, and was from Ayrshire in Scotland.
Before his audition, he spoke about how he would 'sing all the time... but I've never performed professionally before'. In his audition, he performed 'Anthem' by Josh Groban, after which Amanda remarked 'your voice is so powerful', with David adding 'you absolutely nailed it'.
In his Semi-Final performance, he performed a rendition of 'Bring Me To Life' by Evanescence. Amanda described him as 'very good at anthems', with Simon stating 'you took your moment there', later adding 'I think a lot of people at home are really gonna like you'. He won the Semi-Final, advancing directly to the Final.
In the Final, he performed 'To Where You Are' by Josh Groban, accompanied by a string orchestra and a choir which entered the stage midway through the performance. Simon remarked 'for the first time throughout this whole competition, you came out on stage believing you could win'. Michael added 'you should be very proud of yourself, you've delivered and I'm sure the whole of Scotland will be voting for you tonight'. He finished first, ahead of singer Ronan Parke and boyband New Bounce.
Before BGT[]
In 2010, McDowall auditioned for the 7th series of the UK iteration of ‘The X Factor’, and reached Bootcamp. He had also previously won The American Idol Experience, whilst he was on holiday in America.
After BGT[]
McDowall's debut album, 'Believe', was released in December 2011, however only peaked at #54 in the Official Albums Chart.[1] In March 2012, it was announced that his contract with Sony would not be renewed.[2]
McDowall appeared on The Champions (Series 1), performing I'll Never Love Again by Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga from the A Star Is Born Soundtrack. Simon apologised to Jai for not giving him the support that he needed after he had won Series 5 of Britain's Got Talent, and felt his return made [Simon] feel like an idiot, with Alesha adding that McDowall was a brave man for tackling such a 'powerful song'. He did not make the Final for the champions however.
In 2023, McDowall competed upon 'Got Talent All-Stars' which is the Spanish equivalent of 'The Champions', where he was eliminated in the preliminaries.
Trivia[]
- He's the fifth winner of Britiain's Got Talent. First was Paul Potts, second was George Sampson, third was Diversity, and fourth was Spelbound.
- He's the second singer to win the show. First was Paul Potts.
- He's the third solo male contestant to be a winner. First was Paul Potts and second was George Sampson.
- He is currently the only winner to not receive any standing ovations in the Live Semi-Finals and Final.