Jai McDowall

Scottish classical-pop vocalist Jai McDowall captured the fifth series of Britain’s Got Talent in 2011, thereby halting the programme’s streak of dance-act champions, yet he never matched the commercial trajectory of fellow Scot Susan Boyle. Born in Tarbolton, Ayrshire, in 1986, he absorbed country music from an early age and, encouraged by his father’s regular appearances on the local club circuit, began entering karaoke competitions. After completing a two-year course in music and audio technology at Ayr College, he joined both the Ayr Amateur Opera Company and the Loudoun Musical Society, performing in productions of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and Fiddler on the Roof. While employed as a support worker for young people with disabilities, he advanced to the 2010 X Factor boot-camp stage; twelve months later he progressed much farther on Britain’s Got Talent when his rendition of the Chess anthem “Anthem” earned the approval of judges Michael McIntyre, Amanda Holden and David Hasselhoff, securing his place in the live shows. He topped the semi-final public vote with Evanescence’s “Bring Me to Life,” then defeated bookmakers’ favourite Ronan Parke in the final by delivering Josh Groban’s “To Where You Are” and claiming 29.1 percent of the vote along with the £100,000 prize. Following several appearances on the subsequent BGT tour, he joined Syco and cut his debut album Believe with Westlife producer Steve Mac. The record included duets with Hayley Westenra on “The Prayer” and with Scala & Kolacny Brothers on “With or Without You,” plus covers of Green Day’s “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” Elbow’s “One Day Like This” and Nickelback’s “How You Remind Me”; it entered the charts at number 54, one week before McDowall sang for Princess Anne at the 2011 Royal Variety Performance.