Jai McDowall (born 24 July 1986) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, who won the fifth series of Britain's Got Talent in June 2011.
McDowall was raised in Tarbolton in Ayrshire, Scotland[5] where he worked as a support worker prior to winning Britain's Got Talent.
[citation needed] Before Britain's Got Talent, he appeared as a contestant on The X Factor and The American Idol Experience.
[13] 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.
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.
[14] 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.
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."
McDowall had a pleasant surprise at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall when he was invited by Josh Groban to jointly perform "To Where You Are" in front of a packed house.
[24] In September 2019, McDowall returned to prime time television performing on Series 1 of Britain's Got Talent: The Champions.
Cowell admitted that the lack of support McDowall received from him was "unfair" and ended in McDowall receiving a standing ovation from Cowell (who immediately after his Champions performance did not stand alongside fellow judges David Walliams, Alesha Dixon and Amanda Holden).
[28][29] The song made an appearance on the UK iTunes Charts, debuting at number 91 where it remained in its second week before falling out of the top 100.
[4] In December 2023, McDowall featured in a BBC Scotland documentary hosted by Michelle McManus entitled Michelle McManus: Talent Show Winners, where McDowall spoke about his subsequent career following his win on Britain's Got Talent and joining G4 earlier in the year.