Jai McDowall confirmed for Britain’s Got Talent: The Champions – but when was he last on the show and what has he done since?
JAI McDowall won the fifth series of Britain’s Got Talent with his rendition of a Josh Groban classic. And now he’s returning to the stage that made him famous for Britain’s Got Talent: The Champions. Find out more about the Scotsman below… Who is Jai McDowall? Jai McDowall is a Scottish singer-songwriter born on July […]
JAI McDowall won the fifth series of Britain’s Got Talent with his rendition of a Josh Groban classic.
And now he’s returning to the stage that made him famous for Britain’s Got Talent: The Champions. Find out more about the Scotsman below…
Who is Jai McDowall?
Jai McDowall is a Scottish singer-songwriter born on July 24, 1986 in North Ayrshire.
He studied at Music and Audio Technology (NC & HNC) at Music and Sound Production Dept, Ayr College, Scotland.
Before auditioning for BGT he worked as a support worker for children with disabilities.
And was also a member of the Ayr Amateur Opera Company and Loudoun Musical Society.
The singer had starring roles in multiple productions including Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and Fiddler on the Roof.
When was Jai McDowall last on Britain’s Got Talent?
Jai won Britain’s Got Talent in 2011 with a cover of Josh Groban’s hit To Where You Are.
His first audition in Liverpool won him three yeses and positive feedback from judges Michael McIntyre, Amanda Holden and David Hasselhoff.
And during the semi-final, his performance of Evanescence’s Bring me to Life garnered him the most public votes on the night.
But it was his rendition of Josh Groban’s classic that won him the competition and the £100k prize money in the final.
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What has Jai McDowall done since winning the show?
After winning the show and performing at the Royal Variety Performance, Jai went on the Britain’s Got Talent Tour throughout 2011 as well as headlining at numerous Butlins across the country.
Jai was signed to Simon Cowell’s label SyCo after winning the show but was dropped less than a year later after poor sales of his debut album Believe.
In April 2017 Jai went under the knife for a ‘deviated’ septum, and was forced to deny claims he had a cocaine addiction after curious fans suggested that was the reason behind his op.
He said: “The amount of times I’ve been asked if I have a cocaine habit and that’s why I have a deviated septum in the first place has been unreal.
“I don’t have a cocaine habit just in case anyone is wondering.”
On July 25, 2019, The Sun exclusively revealed that Jai would be replacing Susan Boyle in Britain’s Got Talent: The Champions.
An ITV source said: “They didn’t want to be short of contestants and SuBo was looking unlikely to confirm her appearance.
“Jai was ecstatic and will be putting his heart into the show, in the hope of making it right to the end.”
When will Britain’s Got Talent: The Champions be on TV?
ITV have confirmed the BGT spin-off will start on Saturday, August 31.
The series will run for six weeks – with this in mind the show is likely to end on October 5, 2019.
We know that the final was taped at Wembley Arena at the end of July.
Embarrassingly enough, the act who won the contest showed off their trophy outside the arena – we won’t spoil it for you though, but if you do care to know who’s won the show, a simple Twitter search will bring up the answer in no time.