Over the past few years, there has been a wealth of British singers that have broken into worldwide chart fame, including Adele, Jessie J and Emeli Sandé. However, as much as Jess Glynne respects these artists, she holds one in particular high regard.

“It’s no secret that Amy was a massive influence on me. She was the person I wanted to be,” explained Jess in a recent interview with Daily Mail. The London based singer has had a fantastic start to her career, her debut album “I Cry When I Laugh” went 2 x platinum in the UK, and has a good reception in the US, reaching 25 in the Billboard top 200.

When younger, Jess actually lived close to Amy Winehouse, although she was a little too shy to talk to her or seek her advice. She now wishes she had chance to sing with the troubled star, and often does covers of Amy’s songs when singing live.

The link doesn’t end there however, the vocal powerhouse is an avid ambassador for Amy Winehouse’s charity foundation. The foundation makes young people aware of the dangers of addiction and misuse, and the threat it poses to careers. Is Jess ever worried about a dark turmoil tumble like Amy? “I can’t go near drugs. I even get nervous if I breathe in second-hand smoke.”

Jess has battled with depression and anxiety in recent years, but she is well grounded and knows from her Idol that drugs aren’t the answer. Instead, she uses her feelings to write classic pop songs. She also veers from being too melancholy, as she has too much respect for Winehouse’s records to try to imitate the singer too closely.

Jess is currently on tour in the US, and will continue the tour across Europe later in the month.