Damon Albarn apologises to Taylor Swift after songwriting row

British musician Albarn, 53, said in an interview with the LA Times that Swift “doesn’t write her own songs” and he prefers Billie Eilish who is a “really interesting songwriter”.

Multi-award winning singer Swift, who topped the charts in November with the re-release of Red, has said his claims are “completely false”.

The 32-year-old said: “I was such a big fan of yours until I saw this. I write ALL of my own songs. Your hot take is completely false and SO damaging.

“You don’t have to like my songs but it’s really f***d up to try and discredit my writing. WOW. PS I wrote this tweet all by myself in case you were wondering.”

Albarn, who is also known for being the co-founder of virtual band, Gorillaz, said in a tweet reply to Swift that he unconditionally apologised.

“I totally agree with you,” he told Swift. “I had a conversation about songwriting and sadly it was reduced to clickbait. I apologise unreservedly and unconditionally.

“The last thing I would want to do is discredit your songwriting. I hope you understand.”

In the interview, Albarn had said: “Co-writing is very different to writing”.

He added: “I’m not hating on anybody, I’m just saying there’s a big difference between a songwriter and a songwriter who co-writes.

“When I sing, I have to close my eyes and just be in there. I suppose I’m a traditionalist in that sense.

“A really interesting songwriter is Billie Eilish and her brother. I’m more attracted to that than to Taylor Swift.

“It’s just darker — less endlessly upbeat. Way more minor and odd. I think she’s exceptional.”

Swift reached the top spot last year with her release of Red (Taylor’s Version) which she re-recorded in a bid to regain ownership of her music.