Jessie J fan of ‘tough love’

Jessie J considers herself to be "very intense" in her approach to life.

The 24-year-old British songstress has amassed a long list of achievements in her career so far.

Jessie's tenaciousness has given her the strength to power through some of her greatest adversities, including a congenital heart defect that has impacted her health since the age of seven.

Although Jessie's passion has lead her to great success, the singer admits that her emotions sometimes get the better of her.

"Teachers would always say to me, 'If you sang as much as you talked, you could be a huge success'," Jessie told British newspaper the Mirror.

"But I was emotional – I still am – I'm very intense, have a tendency to be silly and get told off a lot for not listening. One minute I'll be crying, the next I'll be angry, but that's just the way I am."

Jessie is a force to be reckoned with on her post as judge on the UK version of The Voice.

"I may make [contestants] cry but they always come back the next day and say, 'Thank you for the tough love – it's what I needed'," Jessie explained.

"You'll never hear me complaining and I never expect to hear my acts complaining either."

Due to suffering a stroke, Jessie was forced to drop out of Brit stage school, a special school for the arts in London where Adele and Leona Lewis were also pupils, at the age of 16.

Jessie's path to success wasn't traditional and she is happy to have learned about the music industry the hard way.

"I feel if I'd auditioned for one of these [singing contest] shows I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing today," she said.

"You have to go through life's experiences – good or bad – to learn from them."