Phil Collins has praised Taylor Swift, saying the pop superstar “deserves” her place as “the hugest thing in the world” after being “blown away completely” the first time he saw her perform 15 years ago.

Speaking to Vernon Kay on BBC Radio 2’s Tracks of My Years, Collins recalled meeting Swift at a Songwriters Hall of Fame event years ago, before she reached her current level of fame, and watching her perform her song “White Horse.”

“This very nice lady then got up on stage with a guitar and sang ‘White Horse,’ and it blew me away completely,” he said. “Not only was the song great, and the sentiment of the song really got me, but she sang it beautifully. And it was just so simple, you know, her on a guitar.”

Collins said he has “always had a soft spot” for the track since. “I’m so pleased that she’s the hugest thing in the world now because she kind of feels like she deserves it,” he said. “I mean it’s easy to knock someone that’s got so much success, but I think she really deserves it.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Collins revealed that his signature solo hit “In the Air Tonight” was largely improvised. “A lot of my lyrics are kind of improvised. The classic example of that would be ‘In the Air Tonight,’ which was pretty much 80% improvised,” he said, explaining that the song’s atmospheric sound came from a Prophet-5 keyboard and that he “certainly didn’t labour on it.” He described the result as “the scenario of luck… and good fortune” rather than craft.

The comments arrive during a landmark year for Collins, who will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist in 2026 — 16 years after entering as a member of Genesis. Across his solo career he scored seven No. 1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 during the 1980s, including “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now),” “One More Night,” “Sussudio” and “Groovy Kind of Love.” “In the Air Tonight,” the 1981 debut solo single he referenced, reached No. 19 on the Hot 100 but became one of the most enduring recordings of his career, later finding new life through film, television and a viral 2020 reaction video.

Swift, for her part, holds the record for the most No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 among soloists with 15, and her most recent release The Life of a Showgirl debuted with a modern-era record of 4 million equivalent album units. “White Horse,” the song Collins singled out, appeared on Swift’s 2008 album Fearless and won two Grammy Awards, including Best Country Song.