Updated

Updated · Billboard · Aug 2

Phil Collins Says Taylor Swift Deserves 15 No. 1 Albums After 'White Horse' Blew Him Away

Updated

Updated · Billboard · Aug 2

Phil Collins Says Taylor Swift Deserves 15 No. 1 Albums After 'White Horse' Blew Him Away

Q: How did a stripped-down acoustic performance completely change a veteran musician's perspective on modern pop superstardom?

A bare-bones performance convinced Phil Collins that Taylor Swift’s superstardom was rooted in real songwriting and vocal ability, not hype. Collins said his view changed about 15 years ago at a Songwriters Hall of Fame event, when Swift — then far from the global force she would become — took the stage alone with a guitar and performed “White Horse.” He recalled being “blown away completely” by how strong the song was without production, spectacle or a full band. What struck him was the combination of craft and feeling. He said the song itself was great, its sentiment “really got” him, and Swift sang it beautifully. In other words, the stripped-down setting acted as a test: with nothing to hide behind, the performance highlighted the essentials that veteran musicians tend to value most — songwriting, emotional clarity and delivery. That experience appears to have shaped Collins’ later view of Swift’s enormous fame. Rather than seeing her as an example of inflated modern pop celebrity, he came to see her success as earned. His comment that she “deserves” to be “the hugest thing in the world” suggests he regards her commercial dominance as the natural result of talent he recognized early. The song he singled out, “White Horse,” from Swift’s 2008 album Fearless, later won two Grammys, including Best Country Song, reinforcing Collins’ judgment that the performance revealed substance before superstardom.

3 articles · Updated · Billboard · Aug 2

Phil Collins said Taylor Swift "deserves" being "the hugest thing in the world," recalling that her performance of "White Horse" at a Songwriters Hall of Fame event 15 years ago "blew me away completely."
On BBC Radio 2, Collins said the song's simplicity — Swift alone with a guitar — and its sentiment left him with a lasting soft spot for the track.
Collins also said "In the Air Tonight" was about 80% improvised, with its atmosphere shaped by a Prophet-5 keyboard and what he called luck and good fortune more than labor.
The remarks come in a milestone year for Collins, who is set for 2026 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist, 16 years after entering with Genesis.
Swift now holds the soloist record with 15 Billboard 200 No. 1 albums, while "White Horse" from 2008's Fearless won two Grammys.