The rumors were true: Taylor Swift has recorded a new original song for Toy Story 5.
Titled “I Knew It, I Knew You,” Swift’s song written for the upcoming fifth installment in Pixar’s Toy Story franchise comes out this Friday (June 5), two weeks ahead of the film’s June 19 release.
In a statement, Disney teased the song as a return to the country music genre for Swift, who in recent years has become one of the biggest pop stars on the planet after debuting as a teenage country singer-songwriter back in 2006.
“Inspired by the rootin’ tootin’ cowgirl Jessie’s ongoing journey in Toy Story 5 that began back in Toy Story 2, ‘I Knew It, I Knew You’ also marks a return to Taylor Swift’s country roots, blending styles that have defined her record-breaking career as a songwriter and artist,” Disney shared, per Variety.
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“It’s incredible just how meaningful it’s been having Taylor write and perform this song. Her connection to Jessie and the immediate way she understood what the character was going through was undeniable. The song is so deeply connected to Toy Story. So much so that on first listen, it instantly felt like it had always belonged there, like a long-lost family member,” writer-director Andrew Stanton shared in another statement.
Meanwhile, Swift says she was inspired to write the song after watching an early screening of the upcoming Jessie-centric movie.
“It’s a *Toy* Story … I’ve always dreamed of getting to write for these characters who I’ve adored since I was a 5 year old kid watching the first Toy Story movie. I fell instantly in love with Toy Story 5 when I was lucky enough to see it in its early stages, and I wrote this song as soon as I got home from the screening. Sometimes you just know, right?” Swift wrote on X about the collaboration with Pixar.
Fans become suspicious after spotting mysterious, cryptic billboards in cities such as Los Angeles that featured “TS,” Swift’s initials, in Toy Story’s signature yellow font. A countdown later appeared teasing a big announcement alongside the blue sky and clouds from Andy’s childhood bedroom wallpaper in the movie series.
The song was co-written and co-produced by Swift and her notable longtime collaborator Jack Antonoff, who last worked with Swift on her 2024 album The Tortured Poets Department.
Toy Story 5 releases in theaters nationwide on June 19.
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