Daliso came third in the 11th series of Britain’s Got Talent during last year’s series and won Amanda Holden’s Golden Buzzer after she dubbed him “hilarious, self-deprecating and relevant”.
The clip of his Golden Buzzer performance has racked up almost 14 million hits on the Got Talent Global YouTube account, with another nine million views on the Britain’s Got Talent account.
Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk, Daliso explained that despite not winning the show, the Golden Buzzer is what catapulted him to success, saying: “I think people are invested in this Golden Buzzer in a different way than just a regular contestant because it’s a moment with a lot of drama and excitement and it’s lovely.
“I mean, who knew? Because, I actually thought, thinking back to when I did it.
“I thought it’s not the kind of thing that someone like me gets. You know, I’m older. I’ve been doing it for a while.
“I was thinking that if you are young and full of promise, that’s the sort of person, so it was great.
I am watching it this year and I’m on team comedy. It’s funny because I had always watched bits of it before but now I watch it avidly because I know what they all have gone through so I’m much more invested.”
Following Jack and Tim Goodacre’s Golden Buzzer performance last night, Daliso revealed the secret that contestants should follow this series.
Daliso said: “The main piece of advice I would give is to enjoy it and to realise that the reach is a lot more than they think.
“What’s funny is I didn’t even realise the amount of people who recognise you. It’s a year on and people still stop me on the street.
“Now I know people who have done Live At The Apollo and have been told by them that after three months people stopped recognising them.
“There’s some kind of different connection when people have been voting for you. They literally remember you. I’m still fame level one.”
While he has amassed a huge online following, Daliso is glad that he can still go shopping without paparazzi following him around.
Daliso continued: “I’ve opened for people who are “famous famous” where everybody recognises them. I have that lovely level where every day two or three people recognise me so it’s always a surprise and it’s always just lovely.
“I’m not at that higher level. I can go grocery shopping. I can go and sit in a restaurant. So I mean, I’m just at this lovely point where my tours sell out and enough people recognise me that occasionally someone waves at me or asks for a selfie.
“But not at the point where I feel hounded by anything. There’s no paparazzi camped outside my flat. It’s probably a good thing!”
The comedian is about to embark on a four-part BBC Radio 4 series titled Daliso Chaponda: Citizen of Nowhere.
Daliso explained: “It’s four episodes. Assuming that it gets rave reviews and people enjoy it, then I’m like, ‘Yes, there will be a second series’.
“So I’m going to be listening and watching Twitter with interest because I really want there to be a season two and three and four. It’s every Wednesday at 6.30pm. So I’m right before The Archers!”
Daliso Chaponda: Citizen of Nowhere starts on Wednesday, May 2 at 6.30pm on BBC Radio 4.
Britain’s Got Talent continues next Saturday on ITV at 7.30pm.
