X Factor band's new Britain's Got Talent winner member snubbed by Simon Cowell
An X Factor band has replaced a member of their group with a Britain's Got Talent winner - years after he was dropped by Simon Cowell's label.
G4 rose to fame after they appeared on the very first series of the ITV singing competition. The band originally consisted of Jonathan Ansell, Mike Christie Duncan Sandilands, Lewis Raines and Matthew Stiff. However, Lewis has since announced he is quitting the band and shared his replacement.
The 2011 winner of Britain's Got Talent, Jai McDowall will be taking his spot in the group. Announcing the news, Lewis told their fans: "I would like to convey a warm thank you for all of your support and heartfelt messages over the last few days. When I first joined the group in 2018, I couldn't believe my luck. I remember being overwhelmed with happiness when I was confirmed as the newest member of G4.
Britain's Got Talent winner Jai McDowell is joining the X Factor group (ITV)"To be a part of such an iconic group, which I grew up with, was for me and will always be a dream come true. However, I feel it is now time to say goodbye to this journey and start a new one, away from singing and performing. I have had the best time and I will always 100k back on a career I could never have imagined. Touring the country, and singing every night in front of thousands of people has been nothing less than the greatest honour and privilege. I am so grateful for the blessings that I have been given and even now I pinch myself that it was real."
He added: "But sometimes in life, we need a change and a new challenge. I am looking forward to sharing that change with you all in the coming year. However, I am not disappearing from the group just yet. We still have this year's magical Christmas tour, which has always been my favourite part of the year." Jai was then revealed as the newest band member and will join the group as they go on their 20th anniversary tour next year.
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However, things haven't always been easy for Jai as he faced severe criticism from Simon Cowell. The singer was swiftly dropped from record label Syco after his debut album, Believe, flopped. Simon said in 2012: “I was disappointed with last year’s winner, Jai. You want to find someone who is a star all over the world and who has got a long career. With respect to him, he wasn’t one of our best ones.” While X Factor judge Louis Walsh said Jai had “no star quality at all”.
Prior to his BGT win, Jai had a brief stint on The X Factor but was dropped at bootcamp. In early 2018, he revealed to the Daily Record that he's really busy singing, writing and performing on cruise ships all over the world. His introduction to G4 came in 2019 he toured with Jonathan Ansell in Les Musicals - a concert with the two performing the biggest hits from the West End and Broadway.
"Work over the last eight years has been sporadic. There have been times when I’ve maybe made the wrong business choices, and there was a period when I had financial difficulties," he told RadioTimes last year. "But I’ve been lucky that I’ve got a very good core group of fans who have stuck by me and been very loyal over the past eight years. There have been ups and downs, but I’ve never had a boring time. I’m very grateful and I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing without the show."
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