Since Jamie Johnson won the hearts of millions of TV viewers on The Voice, his diary has been crammed with gigs and charity appearances.

Determined to make the most his new-found fame, he has now decided to try to make it in the States – hopefully in the footsteps of men of the moment Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith.

He said: “In hindsight, perhaps I should have listened to my mum and jumped on the bandwagon earlier after the show finished.

“But I have now decided I just don’t want half the cake, I want the whole cake.”

But for now, down to earth Jamie is still driving around in his old yellow Mini – despite his mates asking him why he has not swapped it for a Mercedes – and living at home with mum Sharla, dad Matt and younger sister Jessica in Castlemaine Avenue, Gillingham.

“Don’t care what people think of you and don’t take it to heart what they say. If you do it will hold you back 100%" - Jamie

With the new series of The Voice starting tonight Jamie said he will be watching and has some tips for the contestants.

He said: “Don’t care what people think of you and don’t take it to heart what they say. If you do it will hold you back 100%.

“And don’t Google reviews. I remember once reading one from somebody which said ‘I bet he went to a private school and plays hopscotch’, which is funny because it could not be further from the truth. And have confidence in yourself.”

But Jamie is quick to follow up: “Perhaps that’s not the best advice as I’m the biggest worrier there is, who’s always giving myself a hard time.”

Jamie said while there were some nerve-racking moments, there were highlights he would always treasure from the programme.

Among them was singing at the O2 with Justin Timberlake and performing a cover of the Eurythmics’ There Must be an Angel with his mentor, pop princess Kylie Minogue.

He struck up a great rapport with Kylie who wasn’t available for the 2015 series and has been replaced by How We Do singer Rita Ora.

“Let’s just say I had the best coach,” said Jamie. I’m sure Rita will be good and attract a younger audience, but she’s not like Kylie, who has a massive following.”

He won’t be able to watch the whole series as he is preparing to fly to the States next month.

He said: “I’d love to go to the big music places like New Orleans, Nashville and Austen.

“I have some friends over there and will probably go for three to four weeks,then perhaps go back and stay longer.

“The Voice is huge in America so who knows, I might give it a go.”

The Voice is on BBC One tomorrow, starting at 7pm