LADY GAGA has declared her affection for Amy Winehouse who she credits for her own chart success.
The Just Dance star said Winehouse had vaccinated the public against the shock of unusual stars.
She said: "I will always have a very deep love for Amy Winehouse. Because of Amy, very strange girls like me go to prom with very good-looking guys.
"She's a different kind of woman... I don't believe that what I do is very digestible, and somehow Amy was the flu for pop music.
"Everybody got a little bit of the flu and got over it, and fell in love with Amy Winehouse. And now, when more flu comes along, it's not so unbearable."
Earlier this year, Lady GaGa described Winehouse as a "real artist" and a "beautiful girl".