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The upcoming adventures of Woody, Jessie and Buzz Lightyear just got an exciting twist: Taylor Swift has recorded a new song for “Toy Story 5” – it’s called “I Knew It, I Knew You.”
The pop star announced the track on her website today, revealing three CD singles with different versions of the song (Regular, Piano and Acoustic). The release is scheduled for June 5th. (If you’re wondering about the song title, Gracie Abrams has a track called “I Knew It, I Know You.”)
“I’ve always dreamed of writing for these characters that I’ve loved since I saw the first ‘Toy Story’ movie as a five-year-old,” Swift wrote on Instagram. “I fell in love with ‘Toy Story 5’ as soon as I was lucky enough to see it in its early stages, and I wrote this song as soon as I got home after the screening. Sometimes you just know, right?”
Swift and Antonoff reunited
Swift co-wrote and produced “I Knew It, I Knew You” with her longtime collaborator Jack Antonoff, their first collaboration since 2024’s “The Tortured Poets Department.” According to a press release, the track was inspired by Jessie, the cowgirl character voiced by Joan Cusack. Swift returns to her country beginnings.
“It’s incredible how much it means that Taylor wrote and recorded this song,” said “Toy Story 5” director Andrew Stanton in a statement. “Her connection to Jessie and the immediacy with which she understood what the character was going through was unmistakable. The song is so deeply rooted in ‘Toy Story’ – so much so that when I first heard it, it seemed like it had always been there, like a long-lost family member. It was serendipity.”
The singer had already announced that “Toy Story”-related news would soon be coming to her website via a countdown timer of Jessie riding and dancing on horseback. On Monday, June 1st, at 8 p.m. CET the time had come.
Speculations and Easter Eggs
The news didn’t come as a complete surprise. In the days leading up to Swift’s official announcement, rumors about her involvement were already circulating. It started on April 30, when Swift’s official website briefly displayed a countdown with a seemingly “Toy Story”-inspired background – which then disappeared again after a few minutes. The timer seemed to be counting down 48 hours before it anything would be revealed, only to disappear without a trace shortly afterwards.
Swifties speculated that “Toy Story 5” might feature a Swift song on the soundtrack – some even suggested the end credits track. Others suggested Swift might voice a character in the film. The film studio and Swift herself initially remained silent about the rumors. But on May 27, “Toy Story 5” directors Andrew Stanton and McKenna “Kenna” Harris and producer Lindsey Collins dodged questions in an interview: Stanton said it would be a “fucking honor,” and Collins said, emphasizing “would,” “that would be pretty awesome.” However, Stanton clearly denied that a Swift song would end the film. “The sad truth is, we watched the movie being mixed last week and the song at the end wasn’t by Taylor Swift,” he said.
Then on Friday, May 29th, mysterious billboards appeared. They featured a “TS” in bright yellow – apparently a reference to both “Toy Story” and Swift – on a blue background with white clouds. Exactly 13 of them, mind you: Swift’s lucky number, and her birthday is December 13th. These Easter eggs, which also bore the initials of the film and the singer, gave new impetus to speculation. On Saturday, May 30, Pixar finally shared the billboard in question – this time with a dancing Jessie on it, but still without a song. “She’s making up these moves on the fly!” the caption said.