Whitney Phillips Recalls Songwriting Session With Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande

Whitney Phillips is remembering the career moment that changed her life.

The songwriter, who has worked with artists like Jennifer Lopez, Selena Gomez and John Legend, told Us Weekly exclusively that cowriting the 2020 single “Stuck With U” with Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber was the culmination of years of hard work.

“It was my first Zoom session ever,” Phillips said at Netflix Summer Break in Santa Monica on July 17. “We’re a week into the pandemic. We think all of our careers are going to hit a major stall. We hop on this thing called Zoom — which just seems absolutely bizarre — and within a week, that song was recorded by Ariana and Justin. A week after that it was out, and a week after that, it was number one in the world.”

“Stuck With U” was Bieber and Grande’s second duet and their third time debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Phillips revealed that the song’s instant success “changed how I look at the music industry.”

“The song changed how I look at songwriting because now anything was possible,” the songwriter explained.

Phillips is now taking her songwriting skills to the small screen with her new Netflix show, Hitmakers. Produced by Selling Sunset creator Adam DiVello, the reality series follows Phillips and 11 other songwriters as they pen hits for music’s biggest stars. Phillips appears alongside Sevyn Streeter, Jenna Andrews, Tommy Brown and more.

“It’s 12 wildly talented, diverse writers that come together and just show you the behind the scenes of bouncing off ideas and making good songs,” Phillips said about the show, which premiered on Thursday. “[You have to have] a really high standard for the songs that you write and then also showing up as authentically as you can. Not trying to do anything that’s already been done, but taking a risk and having confidence in yourself that you can execute that idea.”

Phillips may work with many of the music industry’s top talent (she says Gomez is “just as sweet and as kind as she is perceived to be”), but there is still one artist that she has yet to collaborate with.

“Rihanna!” Phillips said when asked who she still wants to work with. “I can’t give you any other answer. We need the album. I have all the Fenty products. I’m just waiting on Rihanna.”

All six episodes of Hitmakers are available to stream now on Netflix.