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Taylor Swift and her fans called out Gorillaz member Damon Albarn after he claimed that “she does not write her own songs.” The musician recently appeared in an interview with The Los Angeles Times and spoke about Billie Eilish and Swift.
While the Blur frontman called Eilish “exceptional,” he denounced Swift’s songwriting abilities. When the interviewer mentioned Taylor Swift holds the writing and co-writing credits of her songs, Albarn noted there was a difference between the two:
“Co-writing is very different to writing. I’m not hating on anybody — I’m just saying there’s a big difference between a songwriter and a songwriter who co-writes.”
As Albarn’s statement made the rounds on social media, Taylor Swift took to Twitter to slam the singer. The All Too Well hitmaker mentioned that she was a “big fan” of the musician until he decided to “discredit her writing.”
She also said that Albarn’s “hot take” was “damaging” and clarified that she writes all her songs:
In response to Taylor Swift’s tweet, Albarn clarified that he did not want to discredit her songwriting and that the interview was “reduced to clickbait.” He also apologized for the situation and mentioned he only spoke about songwriting:
Damon Albarn faced a similar situation in 2015 when Adele told Rolling Stone that she regretted working with the singer. She claimed that he called her “insecure” and it was one of her “don’t meet your idol’ moments.”
However, the former clarified to BBC News that the information was “clickbait” and he never intended to call her “insecure.”
Everything to know about Damon Albarn
Damon Albarn is a British singer, songwriter, and record producer, best known as the frontman of British rock band Blur and the co-founder and lead vocalist of Gorillaz. He is often considered to be a pioneer of the British mainstream pop industry of the 90s.
The musician was born on March 23, 1968, in Whitechapel and grew up in Leytonstone. He was reportedly raised in a bohemian family and studied instruments like piano, guitar and the violin during his childhood.
Albarn met then-classmate and fellow musician Graham Coxon at Stanway Comprehensive School when he was just 12 years old. The duo reconnected during their time at Goldsmith University and formed a band called The Circus.
Following the addition of musicians Alex James and Dave Rowntree, the group was renamed to Seymour before officially rechristening to Blur.
The band skyrocketed to fame after releasing back-to-back critically acclaimed albums Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993), Parklife (1994) and The Great Escape (1995).
Their subsequent albums Blur (1997), 13 (1999) and Think Tank (2003) also gained considerable success and further established Damon Albarn’s position as a British pop-icon.
Meanwhile, the musician joined hands with comic book artist Jamie Hewlett to form the virtual band Gorillaz in 1998. The group’s self-titled debut album garnered immense success across the globe and was followed by six more successful studio albums.
The band also released the popular audiovisual project Song Machine and its sequel in 2020. Gorillaz went on to earn the Guinness World Record for being the "Most Successful Virtual Band," with Damon Albarn as the only constant musical contributor.
Following his success in the pop industry, Albarn also dabbled with hip-hop, opera, electronica, and world music. He also collaborated with supergroups like the Good, the Bad & the Queen and Rocket Juice & the Moon.
The London-native released his solo album Everyday Robots in 2014 and second studio album The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows in 2021. He also contributed to several stage productions like Monkey: Journey to the West, Dr Dee, and Wonder.land, and other film soundtracks.
The 53-year-old received the Ivor Novello Award for Lifetime Achievement from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors in 2016. That same year he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to music.
Taylor Swift fans call out Damon Albarn on Twitter
Damon Albarn found himself in the middle of a controversy after claiming Taylor Swift did not write her own songs. The remark left both the Folklore creator and her fans disappointed.
Swift immediately took to Twitter to slam the Gorillaz founder for his statement. Several fans also supported the singer while calling out Albarn on social media:
As reactions continued to pour in online, Albarn clarified that he did not mean to discredit Swift and that the comment was used as “clickbait.” It remains to be seen if Taylor Swift will respond to Albarn’s apology in the days to come.
