Tom Odell Talks Taylor Swift Tabloid Gossip: 'That's Odd, Isn't It? That's Crazy, That's Mad'

If modern fame can be measured in gossip and Twitter scandals, then the U.K.'s next big thing, Tom Odell, who just won the Critic's Choice award at last night's Brit Awards, seems primed to break stateside.

Mere days after the piano pounding singer/songwriter covered Taylor Swift's dubstep-tinged "Trouble" as part of his appearance on BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge, gossip site Hollywood Life had him embroiled in a rather melodramatic affair.

First Swift tweeted a link to a video of the "Another Love" singer's performance of her tune, saying "So I was already a @tompeterodell superfan... Now I'm just floored. This is so good."

Then Odell retweeted the endorsement and replied to the notoriously lovelorn pop star with a "yesssssssss pleased you like it.. xx." Then Hollywood Life speculated that the whole exchange had been part of an elaborate plot on Swift's part to make her former flame Harry Styles of One Direction jealous.

So I was already a @tompeterodell superfan... Now I'm just floored. This is so good. bit.ly/10nHfUE

- Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) January 24, 2013

Odell, who has been on a whirlwind promotional tour of North America on behalf of his debut album Long Way Down had no idea a couple of seemingly innocent tweets had inspired such tongue-wagging. But he seems amused by the results.

"That's odd, isn't it? That's crazy. That's mad," he laughs before stopping to consider the alleged flirtation a little more, telling Spinner, "Well... maybe she is. Quite nice. She's a pretty girl."

Does this mean that a Tom Odell and One Direction feud is on the horizon?

"Perhaps. I don't know," he smiles. "I've never met her before, so it's strange, flirting with her. But if she is, then cool. I should have flirted more back, maybe."

(Maybe he had a chance at The Brits, as someone named @certifiedswifty tweeted a pic of the two couching out backstage.)

What really matters to Odell, though, is the mutual musical respect.

"I'm pleased she like it," he says.

The singer, who has been making men and women on both sides of the pond swoon with his own heartbreaking material since his first EP Songs From Another Love since it was released last fall was inspired to cover Swift's song because he was fascinated by her, well, troubled soul.

"Taylor Swift is a really intriguing character in music in that she's one of the biggest pop stars in the world and yet I think her songs are brilliant, I really do. I think she writes really dark lyrics. I remember the song before, 'We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,' I really liked that song and then I heard 'Trouble' and I listened to the lyrics and I was thinking it would be cool to just do a slightly different take on this and make it a bit darker musically. Because lyrically it is quite dark," he says, adding, "I think she's a lot more real than people think she is."

She's also a lot more complimentary of Odell's performance than he is. While his self-proclaimed superfan was floored by his version of "Trouble," the artist himself remains unconvinced.

"I've only listened back to it once, because I haven't really had the chance," he admits. "I thought it was all right. I think we could have done it a little better. My singing was a bit shit."