 " Sussudio " is one of Collins ' most famous songs and is referenced in many different media , including books , stand @-@ up comedy acts and television shows . He has said that this is the song people most often sing to him when they spot him on the street . In the book and film adaptation of American Psycho , the main character ( Patrick Bateman ) briefly discusses it , amongst other work by Collins . The synthesizer riff was heavily criticised for sounding too much like Prince 's 1982 song " 1999 " , a similarity that Collins does not deny , citing that he is a big fan of Prince 's work . 
