The X Factor (2013–2014) On 4 June 2013, McDonald auditioned in Glasgow for the
tenth series of
The X Factor in front of judges
Louis Walsh,
Gary Barlow,
Nicole Scherzinger and
Sharon Osbourne. He sang
Secret Garden's "
You Raise Me Up" and received three yeses from the judges except for Barlow, who reasoned that he was not yet ready for the competition. At the arena auditions, he sang "
A Thousand Years" and received four yeses from the judges, putting him through to bootcamp in the boys category, mentored by Walsh. At the six-chair challenge, he was the final contestant in the boys category to perform. At judges' houses he sang "
If You're Not the One" and "
Someone like You". Walsh later chose him for the live shows, along with
Luke Friend and
Sam Callahan. McDonald advanced through every week without ever being in the bottom two. On 8 December, along with
Sam Bailey and
Luke Friend, he made it to the final. He became the first Scottish contestant to achieve this feat since
Leon Jackson in 2007. On the 7th of December he published a song titled "Born on SouthSide", On 14 December, he duetted with former
Westlife singer
Shane Filan and was later announced as one of the final two, advancing along with Bailey. After singing "
Superman (It's Not Easy)" by
Five for Fighting as his winner's song, he finished as runner-up to Bailey. When the weekly voting statistics were revealed after the final, they showed that McDonald and Bailey had been the top two contestants every week; McDonald won three weeks and Bailey won the other seven.
In the Arms of an Angel (2014–2017) After the show ended, McDonald quit school to concentrate on his singing career. In January 2014, McDonald announced that he had signed with
RCA Records McDonald said, "When I found out that I was signing to RCA I was over the moon as I knew that they worked with some of the biggest artists in the world. It feels absolutely amazing to be recording my own album and I can't wait to get it out there and give something back to all the fans who have supported me from the very start." The album includes covers of songs such as
Bruno Mars's "
Just the Way You Are",
Adele's "
Someone Like You" and
Westlife's "
Flying Without Wings", all of which McDonald performed on
The X Factor. The album was preceded by the lead single "Answerphone", which was released on 16 March, the day before the album, the song peaked at number 73 on the
UK Singles Chart and number 28 on the
Scottish Singles Chart. He released his debut album
In the Arms of an Angel on 17 March 2014. On 23 March 2014 the album entered the
UK Albums Chart at number 6 and number 1 on the
Scottish Albums Chart.
"Limelight" and second album (2017–2023) In 2017, work towards a second studio album was announced via McDonald's official website and McDonald was cited acts such as
Michael Jackson,
Bruno Mars,
One Direction and
Justin Bieber as influences towards the musical sound that will be contained on his upcoming album. As of August 2017, no release date has been confirmed by McDonald or by his record label. McDonald developed a new touring show where he performs original material, covers of modern chart music, as well as "the beloved ballads". On 19 October 2018, McDonald posted on his official
Twitter account indicating to followers about new music, confirming his new single "Limelight" would be released on 23 November 2018. The single was noted for a more "stripped back" approach, focusing primarily on his vocal ability and usage of a piano as the main instrument throughout the song. It was claimed that the single continued a more "mature sound" to his music.
10th anniversary (2023–present) In 2023, it was announced that McDonald would perform a homecoming concert in Wishaw in October 2023 to mark ten years since his debut. but was rescheduled instead to 25 May 2024, taking place at the Town House in
Hamilton. The postponement of the original date in Motherwell was later attributed to roofing issues, particularly construction issues regarding the roof, meaning a new venue required to be sought for the performance. In October 2024, he performed at the
NHS Lanarkshire Staff Awards, dedicating his performance to NHS staff who has cared for him since he suffered a
cardiac arrest when he was 8 years old, confirming that he still receives regular care from
NHS Scotland as a result. He is scheduled to headline the
Airdrie Town Hall in June 2025. ==Artistry==