After many weeks of speculation and teasers, Taylor Swift revealed this week that she did indeed create a new song for Toy Story 5. It's called "I Knew It, I Knew You," and it's out right now.
"I Knew It, I Knew You" was written and produced by Swift and Jack Antonoff, and Antonoff's Bleachers bandmates play on the track. Promotional materials promised that it would mark "a return to Taylor Swift’s country roots, blending styles that have defined her record-breaking career as a songwriter and artist," but it's not really all that country. The song is inspired by the Toy Story 5 storyline of Jessie, the cowgirl character.
The film's director Andrew Stanton offered this effusive praise:
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. It was kismet.
"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," Swift wrote earlier this week. "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?" Upon the song's release, she added:
Writing this song felt like a musical departure and coming home at the same time. Creating something for Jessie was a new challenge and also felt like second nature all at once. And being a @toystory kid from the age of 5 til now… is an adventure I plan to be on, to infinity and beyond.
Thank you to the brilliant Andrew Stanton for imagining me for this, all those years ago when you wrote this newest film. Thank you to the incomparable @randynewmanofficial for the gorgeous sonic tapestry of songs and scores you’ve meticulously woven over the years. You created the Toy Story musical world, and we are lucky to get to live in it.
By we, I mean myself and my pal @jackantonoff. We wrote this with so much adoration for these characters that made us laugh and helped us learn lessons and think outside the backyard all throughout our childhoods. “I Knew It, I Knew You” from Toy Story 5 is out everywhere now.
Listen below.
Swift's webstore was selling three exclusive CD singles that feature the movie version of "I Knew It, I Knew You" as well as acoustic and piano versions for a limited time. They are no longer available, but two collector's edition 10" vinyl editions are, along with a digital download. This kind of merch play recently helped her expand her net worth to $2 billion, the most ever for a female musician, Forbes reported this week. "I Knew It, I Knew You" will also be on the Toy Story 5 soundtrack, out 6/19.
