KSI has been presented with a BRIT Billion Award for achieving over one billion digital streams in the UK.
The 31-year-old rapper – whose real name is Olajide Olayinka Williams ‘JJ’ Olatunji – admits it’s “surreal” to have achieved over 2.7 billion with his music.
KSI said: “Receiving the BRIT Billion Award is honestly surreal. To have billions of streams in the UK is huge and I can’t thank my fans enough for being on this crazy journey with me. You’ve all been there, pushing the music, and it’s unreal to see it pay off.”
Thanks to his track ‘Thick Of It’, the Sidemen star’s streams increased by eight million in just three weeks, with KSI now having more than 10 million monthly listeners.
The music video on YouTube has more than 47 million views, surpassing his 2021 hit ‘Holiday’ (40 million views).
And on TikTok, the song has exceeded two billion views after being used by Kim Kardashian and her daughter North West and many more celebrities on the video-sharing platform.
Meanwhile, the boxer-turned-rapper has just been unveiled as a new judge on ‘Britain’s Got Talent’.
The social media star will stand in for Bruno Tonioli during the next series of the ITV show as the Italian takes time away due to his ‘Dancing with the Stars’ commitments and has already joked that he will be the nasty one on the panel.
KSI told ‘Capital’: “I’ve kicked Bruno out, and I’m taking his place! Actually, he’s coming back, but I’m there for a little bit. Yeah, it’s going to be fun, man. I’m going to judge some talent.
“Everyone thinks I’m going to be an evil judge, I’m going to be a villain – I’m going to just press the red button as soon as they walk out. I might do that every now and then, but I’m just going to have fun with it and we’ll just see what happens.”
KSI will join regular judges Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon on the panel next year and recently spoke of his excitement at the opportunity.
He said: “I’m so excited to be a guest judge for ‘BGT’. When I got the call up, I couldn’t believe it. I remember watching old ‘BGT’ episodes and going from being amazed to laughing my a*** off. I’m buzzing to see all the fresh new talent, and I’ll be sure to leave a mark.”