1. Jai McDowall was born on 24 July 1986 and is a Scottish singer-songwriter, who won the fifth series of Britain's Got Talent in June 2011.
26 Facts About Jai McDowall
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Jai McDowall was raised in Tarbolton in Ayrshire, Scotland where he worked as a support worker prior to winning Britain's Got Talent.
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Jai McDowall was a member of the Ayr Amateur Opera Company and Loudoun Musical Society.
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Jai McDowall played roles such as Frank in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and Motel in Fiddler on the Roof.
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In 2012, it was misreported that Jai McDowall called Simon Cowell 'anti-Scottish' in a news article.
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Jai McDowall auditioned for The American Idol Experience whilst on holiday in the US in 2009, and won.
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Jai McDowall auditioned for The X Factor in 2010 and reached boot camp but lost out on a place in the live shows.
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Jai 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.
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Jai McDowall received three yesses and was put through to the next round, and through to the live semi-finals.
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Jai McDowall performed for a second time in the semi-final on 2 June 2011, singing "Bring Me to Life" by Evanescence.
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Jai McDowall received positive comments from the judges including Cowell.
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Jai McDowall received the highest number of votes on the night and was automatically put through to the final.
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Jai McDowall received positive comments from all four judges, despite some criticism from judge Simon Cowell, who stated that the vocal was 'monotone'.
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Jai McDowall 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.
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In October 2011, Jai McDowall performed a sell out headline show at the Grand Hall, Kilmarnock.
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Jai McDowall was 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.
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In September 2019, Jai McDowall returned to prime time television performing on Series 1 of Britain's Got Talent: The Champions.
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Whilst Jai McDowall did not progress to the final stages of the competition, his performance was well received by the judges and viewers, with many citing Jai McDowall's on stage persona and vocal abilities maturing since his original win in 2011.
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Cowell admitted that the lack of support Jai McDowall received from him was "unfair" and ended in Jai McDowall receiving a standing ovation from Cowell.
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In 2019, Jai McDowall released a three track extended play entitled Cry, Home, Closer.
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Jai McDowall supported singer Susan Boyle on her 2020 UK arena tour.
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In 2021, Jai McDowall released a new single entitled "All of Me", a cover of the song released by John Legend to mark ten years since his appearance on Britain's Got Talent in 2011.
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Jai McDowall featured and performed in a UK musical production of Come What May which began in late 2021.
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Jai McDowall performed two tours with Jonathan Ansell of Les Musicals.
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In 2023, Jai McDowall joined the vocal troupe G4, replacing original member Lewis Raines.
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In December 2023, Jai McDowall featured in a BBC Scotland documentary hosted by Michelle McManus entitled Michelle McManus: Talent Show Winners, where Jai McDowall spoke about his subsequent career following his win on Britain's Got Talent and joining G4 earlier in the year.