(Cover) - EN Showbiz - Jessie J thinks Amy Winehouse "broke boundaries" and "paved the way" for current musicians.

The 23-year-old songstress was house guest at this year's MTV Video Music Awards. In a special tribute during the VMAs, several artists performed in honour of late singer Amy. Jessie credits the late singer for her musical innovation.

"Amy definitely paved the way for people like me and Adele. She broke boundaries, she set the standard," Jessica explained to The Mirror. "She wrote music that went worldwide. Until that point British female artists hadn't really done anything since Annie Lennox. That was a long time ago."

Beyond musical inspiration, Jessie was inspired by Amy's humility. Jessie finds the late singer's down to earth personality admirable.

"I kind of feel like Amy brought [music] back and I don't think she even realised that she did it," Jessica explained. "She was kind of so humble and everyone was like, Yeah she's amazing.' That was how it was."

Jessie has been suffering from a broken foot that has been preventing her from performing for much of the summer. She relished the opportunity to get stuck in at the VMAs this year.

"I've watched the VMAs every single year and always wished I could be there," she admitted. (C) Cover Media