Jai McDowall
Encyclopedia
Jai McDowall is a Scottish
singer
who won the fifth series
of Britain's Got Talent
in June 2011. As the winner, he received £100,000 and will perform at the 2011 Royal Variety Performance
. McDowall is currently signed to Syco Music, a subdivision of record label giant, Sony Music.
His debut studio album, Believe
is to be released on December 12, 2011. A lead single has yet to be confirmed, expected to be released in November 2011.
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, Jai spent 2 years studying Music and Audio Technology (NC & HNC) at Music and Sound Production Dept, Ayr College
, Scotland.
in 2010 and reached bootcamp. He auditioned in Liverpool
for the fifth series of Britain's Got Talent
with "Anthem
" from "Chess
", receiving positive comments from the judges, Michael McIntyre
, Amanda Holden
and David Hasselhoff
. He received three yeses and was put through to the next round, and through to the live semi-finals.
Jai 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. Jai received the highest number of votes on the night and was put through to the final.
In the final, Jai 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 claimed that the vocal was 'monotone'. During the result,Simon later complimented Jai on his rendition of the song after he had won the top prize of £100,000. Jai was announced as the winner with 29.1% of the vote,approx 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, approx 86,000, between Jai and runner-up Ronan Parke
. He won £100,000 and will perform at the 2011 Royal Variety Performance
.
and Sony Music to be released in December 2011.
Jai is set to perform with members of Loudoun Musical Society and Ayr singing sensation Nicola Cassells on Saturday 1st October at the Grand Hall, Kilmarnock.
He is also set to headline the end of season shows at the main Butlins sites during the October Holiday Break before appearing in the Royal Variety show.
and Sony Music to be released in December 2011.
On October 3, 2011, it was confirmed that McDowall, as well as Sony Music Entertainment
and Syco Music to promote his debut album, he also hired Soundcheck Entertainment to promote the album.
McDowall announced on October 26, 2011 that the album would be titled Believe and would be released on December 12. 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.”
He told STV: “I think it’s a fantastic thing. If I get even half of her success it’s going to be absolutely amazing for me. It’s dead funny cause people are calling me Jai-Bo!”
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
singer
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
who won the fifth series
Britain's Got Talent (series 5)
The fifth series of Britain's Got Talent began on 16 April 2011 and ended on 4 June 2011. The winner of the show was Jai McDowall, who received £100,000 and a place at the 2011 Royal Variety Performance. The show was hosted by Ant & Dec on ITV, while Stephen Mulhern presented Britain's Got More...
of Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent is a British television talent show competition which started in June 2007 and originated from the Got Talent series. The show is produced by FremantleMedia's TalkbackThames and Simon Cowell's production company SYCOtv. The show is broadcast on ITV in Britain and TV3 in Ireland...
in June 2011. As the winner, he received £100,000 and will perform at the 2011 Royal Variety Performance
Royal Variety Performance
The Royal Variety Performance is a gala evening held annually in the United Kingdom, which is attended by senior members of the British Royal Family, usually the reigning monarch. In more recent years Queen Elizabeth II and The Prince of Wales have alternately attended the performance...
. McDowall is currently signed to Syco Music, a subdivision of record label giant, Sony Music.
His debut studio album, Believe
Believe (Jai McDowall album)
Believe is the debut album by Jai McDowall, winner of Britain's Got Talent. It will be released on 12 December 2011.-Background:McDowall won ITV show Britain's Got Talent on June 4, 2011 beating bookies favorite Ronan Parke. It was reported in August that he had been signed up by Syco...
is to be released on December 12, 2011. A lead single has yet to be confirmed, expected to be released in November 2011.
Early and personal life
Jai McDowall lives in TarboltonTarbolton
Tarbolton is a village in South Ayrshire, Scotland.- Meaning of place-name :Tarbolton has been suggested as having one of three meanings:...
in Ayrshire
Ayrshire
Ayrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the...
, 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, Jai spent 2 years studying Music and Audio Technology (NC & HNC) at Music and Sound Production Dept, Ayr College
Ayr College
Ayr College is a community college in Ayr, Scotland, situated on the banks of the River Ayr, Dam Park.-Courses 2008/09 :Ayr College offer a range of courses in various curriculum areas including:* Access to Further & Higher Education* Social Sciences...
, Scotland.
The X Factor and Britain's Got Talent
Jai auditioned for The X FactorThe X Factor (UK)
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date...
in 2010 and reached bootcamp. He auditioned in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
for the fifth series of Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent is a British television talent show competition which started in June 2007 and originated from the Got Talent series. The show is produced by FremantleMedia's TalkbackThames and Simon Cowell's production company SYCOtv. The show is broadcast on ITV in Britain and TV3 in Ireland...
with "Anthem
Chess (musical)
Chess is a musical with music by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, formerly of ABBA, and with lyrics by Tim Rice. The story involves a romantic triangle between two top players, an American and a Russian, in a world chess championship, and a woman who manages one and falls in love with the other;...
" from "Chess
Chess (musical)
Chess is a musical with music by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, formerly of ABBA, and with lyrics by Tim Rice. The story involves a romantic triangle between two top players, an American and a Russian, in a world chess championship, and a woman who manages one and falls in love with the other;...
", receiving positive comments from the judges, Michael McIntyre
Michael McIntyre
Michael Hazen James McIntyre is an English stand-up comedian. He is well known for appearing at many British stand-up comedy events and for several roles on television stand-up programmes such as Live at the Apollo and his own show, Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow...
, Amanda Holden
Amanda Holden
Amanda Louise Holden is an English actress and presenter. Among her roles are Mia Bevan in Cutting It, Sarah Trevanion in Wild at Heart, and the title role in Thoroughly Modern Millie, for which she was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Theatre Award...
and David Hasselhoff
David Hasselhoff
David Michael Hasselhoff is an American actor, singer, producer and businessman. He is best known for his lead roles as Michael Knight in the popular 1980s US series Knight Rider and as L.A. County Lifeguard Mitch Buchannon in the series Baywatch...
. He received three yeses and was put through to the next round, and through to the live semi-finals.
Jai performed for a second time in the semi-final on 2 June 2011, singing "Bring Me to Life
Bring Me to Life
"Bring Me to Life" is a song by American rock band Evanescence. It was written by Amy Lee, Ben Moody and David Hodges and produced by Dave Fortman. It also features guest vocals from Paul McCoy of the band 12 Stones. Wind-up released "Bring Me to Life" in 2003 as the lead single from Evanescence's...
" by Evanescence
Evanescence
Evanescence is an American rock band founded in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1995 by singer/pianist Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody. After recording private albums, the band released their first full-length album, Fallen, on Wind-up Records in 2003. Fallen sold more than 17 million copies worldwide...
. He once again received positive comments from the judges. Jai received the highest number of votes on the night and was put through to the final.
In the final, Jai performed "To Where You Are
To Where You Are
"To Where You Are" is a song by American singer Josh Groban that appears on his 2001 debut album. It was written by Alan Menken, Richard Marx and Linda Thompson and produced by Richard Marx.-Commercial performance:...
" by Josh Groban
Josh Groban
Joshua Winslow "Josh" Groban is an American singer-songwriter, musician, actor, and record producer. His four solo albums have been certified at least multi-platinum, and in 2007, he was charted as the number-one best selling artist in the United States with over 21 million records in that country...
. He once again received positive comments from all four judges, despite some criticism from judge Simon Cowell
Simon Cowell
Simon Phillip Cowell is an English A&R executive, television producer, entrepreneur, and television personality. He is known in the United Kingdom and United States for his role as a talent judge on TV shows such as Pop Idol, The X Factor, Britain's Got Talent and American Idol...
, who claimed that the vocal was 'monotone'. During the result,Simon later complimented Jai on his rendition of the song after he had won the top prize of £100,000. Jai was announced as the winner with 29.1% of the vote,approx 4.1 million, which proved a shock as he beat bookies favourite Ronan Parke
Ronan Parke
Ronan David Parke is an English singer from Poringland, Norfolk, UK who came runner-up in the fifth series of ITV show Britain's Got Talent, despite being the bookies' favorite to win. After the show, it was reported that Ronan had signed a joint record deal with Sony Music...
.
It was later revealed on Britain's Got More Talent that there was a margin of 2.4% of the vote, approx 86,000, between Jai and runner-up Ronan Parke
Ronan Parke
Ronan David Parke is an English singer from Poringland, Norfolk, UK who came runner-up in the fifth series of ITV show Britain's Got Talent, despite being the bookies' favorite to win. After the show, it was reported that Ronan had signed a joint record deal with Sony Music...
. He won £100,000 and will perform at the 2011 Royal Variety Performance
Royal Variety Performance
The Royal Variety Performance is a gala evening held annually in the United Kingdom, which is attended by senior members of the British Royal Family, usually the reigning monarch. In more recent years Queen Elizabeth II and The Prince of Wales have alternately attended the performance...
.
Post Britain's Got Talent
After winning Britain's Got Talent, Jai 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 a Retake That and other guests in August 2011, he secured a record deal with SycoSyco
Syco Entertainment, often known as simply Syco , is a global joint venture between Simon Cowell and Sony Music Entertainment focused on the production and exploitation of music, television, film and digital content...
and Sony Music to be released in December 2011.
Jai is set to perform with members of Loudoun Musical Society and Ayr singing sensation Nicola Cassells on Saturday 1st October at the Grand Hall, Kilmarnock.
He is also set to headline the end of season shows at the main Butlins sites during the October Holiday Break before appearing in the Royal Variety show.
2011-present: Believe
After winning Britain's Got Talent, Jai, who's father frequents the clubs and pubs around his home town as an extremely good singer himself, 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 a Retake That and other guests in August 2011, he secured a record deal with SycoSyco
Syco Entertainment, often known as simply Syco , is a global joint venture between Simon Cowell and Sony Music Entertainment focused on the production and exploitation of music, television, film and digital content...
and Sony Music to be released in December 2011.
On October 3, 2011, it was confirmed that McDowall, as well as Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment ' is the second-largest global recorded music company of the "big four" record companies and is controlled by Sony Corporation of America, the United States subsidiary of Japan's Sony Corporation....
and Syco Music to promote his debut album, he also hired Soundcheck Entertainment to promote the album.
McDowall announced on October 26, 2011 that the album would be titled Believe and would be released on December 12. 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.”
He told STV: “I think it’s a fantastic thing. If I get even half of her success it’s going to be absolutely amazing for me. It’s dead funny cause people are calling me Jai-Bo!”
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
IRL Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
SCO | |||
| 2011 | "With or Without You With or Without You "With or Without You" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the third track from their 1987 album, The Joshua Tree, and was released as the album's first single on 21 March 1987... " |
— | — | — | Believe |