Taylor Swift penned ‘Willow’ in “less than 10 minutes”, according to collaborator Aaron Dessner.
The 33-year-old megastar started working with The National star, 47, on the pair of 2020 sister records ‘folklore’ and ‘evermore’, and he’s revealed the hit from the latter LP was written so swiftly, it was “like an earthquake”.
Speaking to PEOPLE magazine for its Taylor issue after she topped the publication’s 2023 Most Intriguing People of the Year list, Aaron said: “When I sent Taylor the music for our song ‘Willow’ — I think she wrote the entire song from start to finish in less than 10 minutes and sent it back to me.
“It was like an earthquake. Then Taylor said, ‘I guess we are making another album.’”
Many of the singer’s friends and collaborators believe her success is partially owed to how “down-to-earth” and “human” the pop idol is.
Country legend Tim McGraw, 56, told the magazine: “She knows when, where, how to promote [her work], but she also knows when, where, how to be normal and be a human just living her life.
“I think she has brilliantly navigated that line.”
Aaron agreed: “She never really stops writing songs.
“I’ve spent a lot of time with her, and I’ve never seen anyone wait on her. When I have stayed at her house, Taylor herself was cooking everyone breakfast and dinner. She’s legitimately just a very down-to-earth and hard-working person.”
He predicts that she will continue to keep “inventing” ways to “keep expanding” her “enchanted universe” for fans to enjoy for years to come.
He said: “Taylor has so many stories to tell.
“I think she’ll keep inventing new ways and methods of writing and keep expanding this enchanted universe of her own making that we all get to enjoy.”
Sabrina Carpenter, 24, has opened for Taylor on her tour and hailed the ‘Cruel Summer’ hitmaker “fearless” and “smart”, while she quipped that she is “a superstar who’s really good at baking”.
She told the magazine: “Since I was a little girl, I’ve really looked up to how fearless and how smart she is. As a performer, I look up to how she’s able to connect with every single person in the crowd, like she’s singing to them personally.
“She sets such a beautiful tone, and it’s why the shows are as magical as they are. And offstage she is still a superstar, but she’s a superstar who’s really good at baking.”
Paramore’s Hayley Williams, 34, who is a close pal of Taylor and will support her with her bandmates next year, believes she is “just getting started”.
She said: “I’m almost afraid to say it, but I kind of think she’s just getting started.”