BGT CHAMPION JAI MCDOWALL UNDERWENT GRUELLING CIRCUS TRAINING AHEAD OF SHOW

JAI McDowall proved to be the Greatest Showman when he appeared on BGT The Champions at the weekend. 

And now we can reveal that the Ayrshire born singer underwent special training at the circus to build his confidence ahead of the show. 

As well as having knives thrown at him, and limboing under fire, Jai also took part in Zippos Globe of Death where he stood while two 125cc scrambler bikes circled his head. 

He said: “I was very nervous the first time I took part in BGT and the judges even remarked that my knees were knocking together as I performed. This time round I wanted to make sure that I’d be confident so I got some extra special training at the circus. 

He laughed: “I figured that nothing would be worse than staring death in the face.”

Jai wowed the audience with a moving performance of I’ll Never Love Again during the weekend’s talent contest and even received a standing ovation from Simon Cowell. 

Simon apologised to the Scots star for writing him off eight years ago after he won the show and proclaimed: “So, 2011. I remember my issue at the time was I was struggling to find out where you fit into the market," Simon told Jai. 

"The fact that I never gave you support during or after the show and you have the guts to come back and prove a point to me: you've grown in stature and in confidence and that was an amazing performance.

"I owe you an apology for not giving you the support you needed at the time, but I also respect the fact you've come back and made me look like an idiot and you look fantastic.

"I could not be more thrilled so here's the standing ovation I should have given you."

Jai has been inundated with calls since the show and was even approached by Hollywood producers to star in a big movie. 

A spokesperson for the star said: "Jai is in talks about lots of future projects and there is s lot of interest in him taking on some acting roles, He has also received a request from Susan Boyleto join him on tour this March."

BGT WINNER JAI MCDOWALL TO BACK SUSAN BOYLE ON BGT CHAMPIONS

Beverley Lyons
BRITAINS Got Talent winner Jai McDowall says he will back Susan Boyle on BGT The Champions - and wants to thank Simon Cowell in person for giving him his big break.
Ayrshire born Jai, who won the fifth series of the telly talent show in 2011, and is on a mammoth Les Musicals 60 date tour  with G4’s Jonathan Ansell, says he is team Susan all the way.
Jai, who will visit Glasgow this week as a guest of the Lord Provost for Mardi Gla celebrations, before returning on September 14 at the Kings Theatre said: “After Susan’s performance on America’s Got Talent I’m definitely backing Susan all the way to be the British champion. She’s the ultimate success story of BGT and the biggest star to come out of the show. I think if anyone deserves to be the champ it should be her.”
Jai would love to go down to London to watch Susan perform and if he had the opportunity, thank Simon Cowell in person for his big break eight years ago on the show.
He said: “I'd love to go down there and support Susan in the  audience and it would be the perfect opportunity to go shake Simons hand and thank him for the career I now have. Without Simon and BGT I wouldn’t have the lifestyle I’ve got. He’s been a real dreammaker for many contestants including me. I still get to do what I love doing.”
Jai was misquoted at the time of winning as saying that Simon was anti Scottish.
The reports caused Simon to hit back at the star at the time but a now older and wiser Jai says: “It was a complete misunderstanding. I’ve always had a real respect and admiration for Simon. I'd love an opportunity to look him in the eye and tell him how grateful I am.”
Jai’s career has seen him perform around the world and there is now interest in him from America.
He has kept in touch with Susan Boyle and said he would love like to sing with her in a supergroup. He said: “Lewis Capaldi said he wanted to make a supergroup with Susan Boyle and Leon Jackson, I want in..where do I sign!. Maybe there's a record there for comic relief."

SUSAN BOYLE IS ON FIRE FOR 58TH BIRTHDAY

Susan with PA and friend Geraldine


Exclusive 
Beverley Lyons  
SUSAN Boyle joked that she would have had to call the fire brigade if there had been enough candles on her birthday cake this week.
The West Lothian born BGT star,  who is celebrating ten years of being in the public eye since her now legendary shock  performance on the show, also joined friends to enjoy the festivities for her big birthday. 
Susan went for lunch near her home in Blackburn and said of her 58th birthday celebrations: “I had a lovely birthday and was thoroughly spoilt by my friends. I got some lovely gifts, including a hamper of spa products, which is perfect for my new bathroom. I went out for a lunch and had a surprise birthday cake!”
She laughed: “Thank goodness they didn’t put 58 candles on it or we’d have been joined by the fire brigade.”
“It was a great day and I felt very loved and happy by friends, family and of course my wonderful fans who sent me cards, messages and gifts wishing me a happy birthday.”
Following Simon Cowell’s revelation that he gave her a pep talk during the lead up week to the finals on BGT in 2009, Susan claims she is older and wiser now that she’s 58. And she said she wishes she hadn’t worried as much when she was younger. 
She said: “As for what I would tell my younger self, it would be not to worry and enjoy every moment and experience that comes my way.”
Susan who has previously credited Simon as being the best boss ever said: “I’m looking forward to the next week celebrating ten years since my first BGT audition and what a wonderful 10 years it has been.”
Simon revealed on Lorraine this week that he gave Susan a pep talk on how to deal with her fame, as the pressure of the competition piled up. 
The 59-year-old judge explained: ‘The lead up to the week of the final we sat down with her and her friends.We said, “Look, if it’s too stressful, because it’s all over the media”…she said it was fine, she was going to do it. And I’m thinking, “Fine, she’s going to win.”’And I'll never forget it [when they said] 'The winner is Diversity'. "I was on that stage under 20 seconds saying into her [ear], 'We've got an album deal. Literally from that moment." Simon said that from that moment on it was up to her when she wanted to make an album and insisted that she was "part of the family" now."

SIMON COWELL AND SCOTS DREAMMAKER CHARITY HELP CANCER TEENS

Beverley Lyons
SIMON Cowell has invited two Scots cancer teens and their families as VIPs during the live finals of Britain’s Got Talent after they presented him with a teddy bear and Tunnocks Teacakes for his son Eric.
The music mogul and reality show judge was in Manchester and held up the show recording with Alesha Dixon, Amanda Holden and David Williams when he met Sara Miller, 15 and Molly Cuddihy, 16.
The two girls and their mums had been invited down to watch the auditions of the shows by the Les Hoey MBE Dreammaker Foundation.
Sara who has suffered from non Hodgkins lymphoma and has had five phases of chemotherapy since 2017 said: “It was amazing and everyone was lovely, especially Simon who couldn’t have been nicer. I took him a teddy bear and said he should give it to Eric and he said Eric would love that and he would give it to him that night. He was a wee bit smaller than I expected but was amazing and asked us to come to the live shows. David Walliams is so funny too, hysterical. Me and my dad and brother love him and he was interested to hear about our conditions.”
Alesha Dixon, Amanda Holden and David Williams also welcomed Sara and Molly.
Molly, 16 from Gourock who was diagnosed woth Ewings Sarcoma and finds it hard to walk now said: “It was incredible. Simon was so friendly and not the cold personality you see on TV. He was quite taken aback we thought of Eric and he loved the Teacakes too and kept them beside him for the auditions.  They were all really lovely and really interested to talk to us even though we met them during the actual show. They said they would restart after our meeting. Ant and Dec even gave me a high five on the way down.






















From Scotland with Love Theshowbizlion.com

SUSAN BOYLE GEARING UP FOR BIG 2019

THE incredible Susan Boyle cannot wait until her performance on America’s Got Talent airs in January. 

Susan said: “I received a phone call from Simon Cowell and flew over to the States for the show.”

The singing star from West Lothian who made her mark on judges including Heidi Klum who I’m told was a massive fan, was on sparkling form at the Scottish Music Awards on Saturday night at Glasgow’s SECC.

I’ve had the privilege of her company a number of times now and she’s looking better than ever.

Before singing at the bash to raise funds and awareness for Nordoff Robbins music therapy charity, Susan who has been working on a brand new album told me: “You do get nervous on nights like these but it’s good nerves, exciting. It’s a very special night for Nordoff Robbins too -the 25th anniversary so congratulations to them.”

After seeing a clip of herself on stage with Elaine Paige Susan who sang Wild Horses beautifully and was wearing a Frox of Falkirk fuchsia dress commented: “I’ve come a long way and I didn’t realise I’d done so much so I was very humbled.”

We will be seeing a lot more of the star next year when her new album comes out. She told me to expect a mix of classic and new songs on it and that she has had some fun making it in the studio. 

X FACTOR’S CAITLYN VANBECK HINTS AT RETURN TO ITV SHOW

Beverley Lyons
FORMER Scots X Factor contestant Caitlyn Van Beck says she turned down Love Island but has hinted she may return to the reality series after notching up an incredible 64 Million view’s online in just four hours.
The Edinburgh born singer appeared on X Factor 2016 and got through to the judges house before being eliminated from the competition.
A video of her first audition was posted up on the Facebook channel of X Factor Global just days ago and was viewed 64 million times by an audience around the world - in the first hour hours.
Fans then inundated Caitlyn with direct messages in a bid to know more about her and find out what she is doing now.
Caitlyn, who has been training to be a primary school teacher in amongst gigs has now revealed that she will consider reentering the show.
She said: “It’s just magnificent it’s still doing the round and had racked up so many hits in just a few hours. It has all has gone a bit hectic.  When I first entered X Factor I  was at teacher training so it was very hard for me to focus on one particular thing. My journey ended where it do and although it was unfortunate it gave me time to work on myself and do my thing and work on my degree but obviously  Music is where my heart lies and it’s where I want to be. I did get an offer from Love Island and turned it down. Everybody is looking for love but music is my passion at the minute and the love will follow.”
Caitlyn also revealed she is in the midst of recording a song with Chandler Riggs who plays Carl Grimes on telly series The Walking Dead.
The two became friendly after Caitlyn was asked to sing at The Walking Dead convention in London last year.
She added: “We’ve been working on some material and although it’s not official yet there is potentially something coming your way from both of us.”

LOUIS WALSH JUDGES FASHION NOT MUSIC AT JUNK KOUTURE SCOTLAND

LOUIS Walsh admitted he was doing his first bit of work this year as he joined Saturdays' singer Una Healy as judge at the live final of Junk Kouture in Scotland.
And although he claimed he was anything but fashionable, Louis was in fine fettle as secondary kids from across Scotland battled it out with some weird and wonderful creations made from everyday junk.


TheShowbizlion.com was massively impressed by the intricacy of the designs on offer and we saw an array of outfits that could easily grace events like the Oscars or Emmys.
Lady Gaga would have had a field day.


Telly gal Cat Cubie presented the awards while X Factor runners-up Reggie ‘n Bollie entertained crowds at the final, at the SEC Armadillo. Winners included Hillhead Academy who won the performance award for their Highland Cow based dress which included pigs’ trotters.


Una handed over the trophy to the Junk Kouture Scotland overall winner which went to St Paul’s RC Academy with a dress made from old maps.


Louis said: “I've been resting since Christmas and I'm ready to get back to work now. This has been great. The standard this year has been really high and I think we’ve seen some great people for the future of the fashion industry.”
Una who has just released her Nashville inspired solo album added: “We were scrapping backstage to pick the top three. And we were blown away by everybody.”




- Posted with love from Scotland by theShowbizLion.com

CAITLYN VANBECK VERSUS SIMON COWELL FOR XMAS HIT

X FACTOR contestants Caitlyn Van Beck and Nate Simpson have formed their own group called The Underdogs - and are going up against the X Factor winner for a Christmas Number One.
Tranent gal Caitlyn who reached the judges houses stage of the competition and Nate who was described as having a voice like Jesus by Nicole Scherzinger got together with eighties music legend Pete Hammond to write the new track Retro Soul (So Hot).
Pete did all the programming for Stock Aitken and Waterman on hits for Kylie, Rick Ashley and Bananarama and is nicknamed Pete 100 hits.
Caitlyn and Nate plan to release their single on Friday December 9.
Caitlyn said: "Coming off the X Factor was quite a blow but having the opportunity to work with the legendary Pete Hammond and of course Nate has just been incredible."

Excerpts of this article appeared in the Scottish Sun



- Posted with love from Scotland by theShowbizLion.com

RYAN LAWRIE MAKES LOW KEY RETURN TO GLASGOW

RYAN Lawrie was given a heroes welcome by his friends as he made a low key return to Scotland following his X Factor exit.
Ryan who left the competition on Sunday night after a sing off with rapper Honey G decided not to stick around in London after leaving the house he shared with contestants including his girlfriend Emily Middlemas.
Following his exit interviews he hopped on a plane back to Glasgow to catch up with family and friends before deciding on the next step of his career.
He arrived in Glasgow around eight pm to be met by a posse of pals at the airport.


Annabelle Seeth was amongst those who welcomed the singer and carried him for a photo at the airport.
Ryan said: "It's great to be back. The hard work starts now."


Excerpts of this article appeared in the Scottish Sun


- Posted with love from Scotland by theShowbizLion.com

RYAN LAWRIE DIVIDES FANS OVER HAIRDO

X Factor contestant Ryan Lawrie's new hairdo has split opinion after it received as much attention as his actual performance on the show tonight.
The Scots singer was given a complete makeover for Saturday night as stylists gave him a short back and sides, getting rid of his famous curls.
Twitter went crazy with comments following his Motown performance of Superstition as fans pointed out the obvious.
Fan Kerri Florence said: "Where are Ryan's curls man, not feeling the new hair cut"while Mary Ballard added: "Where has usual #RyanLawrie hair gone? He looks so different."
One fan reckoned Ryan looked like he used to two years ago and put up a picture of him commenting: "I am dying @RyanLawrie_'s hair looks like this two years ago Ryan, right now!!" while follower Andrea said: "Anyone else think Ryan Lawrie looks like Brooklyn Beckham with that hair? #XFactor"
Ryan had earlier this week revealed that he used sea salt and bendy rollers to achieve his curly look.
Let's hope his new shorter hair doesn't do the same for him as it did for biblical character Samson.

Extracts of this original article appeared in the Scottish Sun
- Posted with love from Scotland by theShowbizLion.com

XFACTOR HOUSE TOO HEALTHY FOR RYAN AND EMILY

Exclusive
Beverley Lyons
Emily Middlemas and Ryan Lawrie admit they are fed up with healthy eating in the X Factor house and just want some junk food.
Asked if they were cooking for one another in the house Emily revealed: "No we don't cook dinner for one another. We have a chef.
Ryan quipped: "Thank God."
But he added: "It's all too healthy. We don't have any fried stuff or anything. We want a big chippy from Glasgow.
Emily laughed: "Yeah, we want a big burger. We need pizzas."
Emily said of her time in the house.
She enthused: "It is amazing honestly. Every single contestant is so nice and there for each other. Everyone is so lovely and we all get on really well. I was expecting it to be cat fights but it's not like that at all. Everybody is so nice and we are really enjoying ourselves. It's good."
Ryan added: "It's amazing. We just support each other and focus on what we are here for which is to perform every week and do the best we can and when we get some spare time we like to chill out and spend some time together which is nice and is a bonus".
The new Jukebox feature will see the song themes for the following week being decided via a spinning wheel on the show. Themes up for grabs include Oscars, Boy Band vs Girl Band, Disco, Motown, 80’s, Divas and Louis Loves (the Louis Walsh collection).
Emma said: "It's crazy cause you never know which theme it's going to land on so it's really exciting."
Ryan admitted it concerned him adding: "It's scary cause all the genres are not something I would do. It's not really my kind of music. It'll be a really big challenge to try and adapt to what it is."
Ryan added: "It feels so amazing we wanted Scotland to get everyone behind us and hopefully get the votes in so we can stay a bit longer. It doesn't usually happen to someone like me. Coatbridge is not one of those places you get a lot of opportunity. I'm just holding it with both hands and hopefully am not going to let it go for a while."


- Posted with love from Scotland by theShowbizLion.com

CAITLYN VAN BECK SINGS FOR SCOTTISH DREAMMAKER CHARITY

X Factor singer Caitlyn Van Beck might have been knocked out of the telly show on Saturday but she didn't stay at home weeping over the decision - and managed to wow as a surprise guest at a charity bash for sick kids.







Guests couldn't believe their luck when 18 year old Tranent gal Caitlyn turned up at the Les Hoey MBE Dreammaker Foundation bash in Glasgow's Crowne Plaza.







And at exactly the same time as X Factor fans watched the judges houses stage of the show where Simon made his shock move she performed a moving rendition of Piece By Piece by Kelly Clarkston on stage at the party.







Revellers included GLOW reality stars Brian Matthews and James English, Still Game's Jane McGarry and Mark Cox who play Isa and Tam and radio host Suzie McGuire.

Caitlyn said: "It's great to be here to support the Les Hoey MBE Dreammaker Foundation and to see all the smiles on the children's faces."

Meantime fans of the Scots singer have kicked off after house after her pianist appeared to hit a bum note during her Judges House audition.
Caitlyn sang Praying For Time by George Michael during the audition in Malibu in front of Simon Cowell and his friends.
Caitlyn appeared to forget her words as she sang the famous song and Simon encouraged her to keep singing.
Now however, followers online have pointed out that the pianist seemed to hit a wrong note which put the Scots talent off.



At fifty five seconds into the audition just as she is about to sing the word wounded which she begins to pronounce, she stops dead and gives a puzzled look.
Simon urges her to continue after the two exchange a look and Caitlyn then performs the rest of the song beautifully.
Fans are now furious that Caitlyn, who was put head to head with fellow Scot Emily Middlemas at judges houses, was put out of the competition by a regretful Simon.
And some are raising questions about her musical accompaniment online.
Paul Lang commented: "The guy playing piano went wrong there, didn't he? She was thrown.#xfactor"
Another Sasha Lang added: "Anyone else notice the Pianist messed up just as Caitlyn was smashing her song at judges, struggle to believe that wasn't set up..furious."
Another wrote on a forum: "I just watched again on YouTube and it almost seemed like the keyboard player played the wrong notes to the line 'when there is no hope to speak of'. Very strange"



Excerpts of this article from The showbizlion.com appeared in The Sun online.



- Posted with love from Scotland by theShowbizLion.comSun online

X FACTOR'S BIG HONEY G AND STORMZY: A COLLABORATION ?

IT looks like a collaboration could be on the cards for X Factor's North Weezey rapper Honey G and MOBO winner Stormzy.
Big Honey G aka Anna Georgette Guildford from North London's Harrow stormed the X Factor auditions with her posh rap rendition of Missy Elliot's Work It.
As fans almost broke the Internet after her performance, several contacted Stormzy to tell him about her performance.
Stormzy who was about to take the stage in Reading replied: "Who is Honey G and why do I need to collab with him/her ?"
He was told: "Tune into #XtraFactorLive on @itv2 right now and you will find out..."
Stormzy who was clearly enamoured by what he briefly saw said: "Ok lemme be a judge on your show, maybe not next year but 2018 lets do it... sick drop us an email late 2017/2018 and we'll chop it up, gonna catch up on the show later respect."
Honey G, who shops regularly in Sainsbury's and is a managing director at an IT recruitment company meantime has admitted she never expected to get so much response to her audition.
She said: "I never knew, I never expected to get this point, I never knew what to expect."
To those who thought her performance was fake she added: "There's a lot of haters out there and haters are going to hate. Don't play hate, congratulate. I am about positivity."
The jury is still out given her academic credentials in Linked In.





I







- Posted with love from Scotland by theShowbizLion.com

EDINBURGH'S CAITLYN VANBECK COMPARED TO KELLY CLARKSON ON X FACTOR

Scots X Factor contestant Caitlyn Vanbeck has been compared by Simon Cowell to US hit maker Kelly Clarkson.
In scenes just a few hours away in tonight's X Factor, Caitlyn, 18, from Tranent, outside Edinburgh will wow the X Factor judges with a rendition of Piece By Piece by Kelly Clarkson.
She even manages to make Nicole Scherzinger cry as she tells how she was bullied in her early life.
An emotional Caitlyn said: "Bullies didn't take to my singing."
Simon Cowell recalled at her Edinburgh
audition how he met a young American 15 years ago who later became one of the biggest selling artists on the planet. "That singer was Kelly Clarkson."
Grinning, he told her: "You are the best singer we've heard this season."
Caitlyn, who won Edinburgh's Got Talent several years ago, got past boot camp and reached the six chair challenge in last year's competition but wasn't given much airtime.
This year the hope is that she'll be getting a lot more and with all of Scotland behind her that looks like a distinct probability.


- Posted with love from Scotland by theShowbizLion.com

MEL B GOES SEXY SPICE WITH PROFESSOR GREEN IN EDINBURGH

SPICE Girl Mel B showed off her tighter than tight outfit at Edinburgh TV festival as she teased Professor Green about his newly single life.
The star was in cheeky mode as she presented a special edition of lip sync battle for top telly Chiefs at the EICC.
She asked co presenter Prof Green: "How are you these days Prof?"
He replied: "Single" referring to his recent split with Made in Chelsea's Millie Mackintosh.
She then gave him some banter adding: "Yeah right look at you. C'mon how is it really going?"
The Prof replied: "It is going alright really."


Mel who told the showbizlion.com she was wearing "PVC" enjoyed hosting the show admitting that telly execs were crazier than the rest of the population.
She didn't comment on the forthcoming Spice Girl Reunion plans which will see her team up with Emma and Geri for twentieth anniversary celebrations.




- Posted with love from Scotland by theShowbizLion.com

Location:Shuttle Street,Glasgow,United Kingdom