By specifying the ROOT option in the FOR JSON query, you can add a single, top-level element to the JSON output. The following code shows this:
SELECT TOP (3) PersonID, FullName, EmailAddress, PhoneNumber FROM Application.People ORDER BY PersonID ASC FOR JSON AUTO, ROOT('Persons');
Here is the result:
{ "Persons":[ { "PersonID":1, "FullName":"Data Conversion Only" }, { "PersonID":2, "FullName":"Kayla Woodcock", "EmailAddress":"[email protected]", "PhoneNumber":"(415) 555-0102" }, { "PersonID":3, "FullName":"Hudson Onslow", "EmailAddress":"[email protected]", "PhoneNumber":"(415) 555-0102" } ] }
By specifying the root element, you have converted the outer array to a single complex property named Persons.