Behind every hit song is a songwriter whose story often goes untold. But in Netflix’s gripping new docu-series Hitmakers, the spotlight finally shifts to the creative minds behind the music. The series follows 12 elite songwriters and producers — including Grammy-nominated powerhouse Whitney Phillips — as they travel the globe attending high-stakes writing camps to pen new hits for some of today’s biggest stars like John Legend, Shaboozey, and BLACKPINK’s LISA.
It’s an unprecedented look at the raw, chaotic, and emotional process behind songwriting, and for Phillips, it marks a new chapter in a career that has already helped shape the soundtrack of a generation.
“It kind of goes behind-the-scenes of the lives of me and 11 of my cast members,” Phillips tells Celeb Secrets over the phone. “You see what it’s like to go to these songwriting camps — these exotic getaways the labels take us on to write for their artists. It shows the real process.”
The process, as the series reveals, is anything but simple. For viewers used to seeing polished performances and glossy pop personas, Hitmakers is a welcome reality check. The show captures the intensity, the vulnerability, and yes, even the interpersonal tension that naturally bubbles up when a dozen fiercely creative individuals are tasked with creating magic under a deadline.
“It can be as fun as you want it to be and as chaotic as you want it to be,” Phillips shares. “You’re plucked out of your natural environment and thrown into these camps with people you haven’t necessarily met before. There’s pressure to deliver. But if you can harness that pressure, it can be incredibly fruitful.”
For Whitney, the experience was more than just creatively challenging. It was personal. Midway through filming, she experienced a breakup — an emotional moment that played out in real time on screen. Minutes after a difficult conversation with a fellow cast member, she was back in the studio, writing a song about fidelity.
“It wasn’t exactly the most hospitable environment for going through a breakup,” she admits. “But there was work to be done. I’ve been doing this for a long time, and I know how to focus on the song.”
Still, she credits the work itself as a source of healing.
“That’s the beautiful thing about what I do—it really is like free therapy every day,” she reflects. “Even on the days I don’t want to show up for work, I push myself because I know I can turn pain into something healing. If I can do that for myself, it’ll probably find someone else who can relate to it.”
And that’s exactly what Whitney has done her entire career. From penning pandemic anthem “Stuck with U” by Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber, to writing across genres for Celine Dion, Red Velvet, NEEDTOBREATHE, and Jennifer Lopez, her work taps into a universal emotional current.
In fact, “Stuck with U” became a defining moment in her journey. “It was about a week into the pandemic. It was our first Zoom session,” she recalls. “We were on a mission to write a ‘sign of the times’ kind of record.” What unfolded was a rare instance of lightning in a bottle: the song was written over Zoom, recorded by Grande and Bieber just one week later, released another week after that, and topped the Billboard Hot 100 shortly thereafter.
“To have my career completely fast-tracked like that after already being 10 years deep in the industry, I was blown away,” she shares. “That moment taught me that anything is possible. Just keep your head down, do the work, and be ready when your moment comes.”
But despite her commercial success, she’s quick to point out how misunderstood the role of the songwriter still is.
“We’re the thing that makes the whole machine go around,” she says. “But we’re the last to be compensated. There should be a middle class in songwriting. It shouldn’t just be a career for the 1% who get lucky.”
She’s not just talking—she’s actively fighting for change. As a vocal advocate for songwriters’ rights, Phillips has testified on Capitol Hill and continues to speak out about streaming inequities and publishing split politics.
“I’m deeply attached to my community,” she says. “I’ve seen my collaborators wait tables, drive Ubers, and come so close to life-changing moments only to have them taken away. This work takes incredible dedication. And it deserves to be sustainable.”
While Hitmakers lifts the veil on the songwriting process, it also pulls back the curtain on who Whitney Phillips is as an artist, collaborator, and human being. The show dives into her ability to connect with others, even those with radically different perspectives—a skill she says has been essential to her growth both personally and professionally.
“One of the things I thrive off of is finding the commonalities I have with people who are different from me,” she shares. “Even challenging collaborations helped me grow as a writer. It’s one of the perks of my job: growing through connection.”
And if Hitmakers leaves you wanting more, you’re in luck. Whitney just launched the Hitmakers Podcast with fellow cast member Ben Johnson, where they break down each episode, share behind-the-scenes moments, and dive even deeper into the songwriting journeys that fans only briefly get to see on screen.
“Fans have so many questions about the songs, the cast, the process,” she says. “This podcast gives us a space to answer those questions, celebrate our community, and share even more of our world.”
As for what’s next? It’s business as usual. Whitney is already back in the studio, working with artists she believes in (Teddy Swims, we’re looking at you), developing new talent, and staying rooted in her purpose: making music that matters.
“I just want to keep putting good into the world,” she says simply.
You can catch Whitney Phillips on Hitmakers, now streaming on Netflix, and follow her journey even further on the Hitmakers Podcast. This is more than music. This is the journey of a hitmaker.
Check out the full trailer for Hitmakers below and don’t forget to let us know if you’re loving the series by either leaving a reaction at the bottom of the post or by sliding into our DMs on Instagram at @celebsecrets.
