Taylor Swift’s ‘White Horse’ makes Phil Collins’ list of the songs that have soundtracked his life

Taylor Swift left quite a first impression on Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Phil Collins.

Collins appears on the latest installment of BBC Radio 2’s Tracks of My Years podcast, where artists reveal the 10 songs that have soundtracked their life. Because of that first encounter with Taylor, Collins chose her Fearless song “White Horse” for his list.

Collins explains that he met Taylor “way, way back” at the Songwriters Hall of Fame, where he was introduced to her by one of his daughters, Emily in Paris star Lily Collins.

“I’d kind of known the name, but she wasn’t anywhere near the star she is today,” Collins says. “Then she got up onstage with a guitar and sang ‘White Horse,’ and it blew me away completely, cause 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 the guitar.”

“So, I’ve always had a soft spot for this song since then,” he adds.

Collins says he’s “so pleased that she’s the hugest thing in the world now.”

“It kind of feels like she deserves it, you know,” he says.  “It’s easy to knock someone that’s got so much success but I think she really deserves it.”

Swift performed “White Horse” at the 2010 Songwriters Hall of Fame induction, where she received the Hal David Starlight Award. In May, she was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.