Taylor Swift spent the last few weeks of May laying groundwork. On April 30, her website briefly flashed a countdown clock — sky-blue background, cloud imagery, yellow numbers that looked unmistakably Toy Story — before disappearing without explanation after ten minutes. Disney and Pixar billboards bearing the initials "TS" appeared in cities worldwide on May 29. Then, on June 1, the announcement landed: Swift had written and recorded an original song for Toy Story 5.
The song is called "I Knew It, I Knew You." It was produced with Jack Antonoff — their first collaboration since 2024's The Tortured Poets Department — and it dropped on all major streaming platforms this morning, June 5. The film it belongs to opens in theaters on June 19.
What the song sounds like
Disney is billing "I Knew It, I Knew You" as a return to Swift's country roots, inspired specifically by Jessie — the yodeling cowgirl who has been part of the franchise since Toy Story 2 in 1999. Early reviews describe the track as upbeat storytelling pop with acoustic guitar at its core, closer to Swift's debut album and Fearless era than anything she's released in years. One critic called it "the most purely joyful three minutes she's recorded since 2012."
The song is written for a scene involving Jessie and her original owner Emily, last seen in Toy Story 2. Swift, who watched an early cut of the film before writing it, described the process as immediate: "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."
"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." — Taylor Swift, Instagram, June 1, 2026
The rollout
Three limited CD editions — standard, acoustic, and piano — went on sale immediately after the announcement at $3.99 each. All three sold out within hours. Physical copies ship June 19, the same day the film opens and the full Toy Story 5 soundtrack album drops via Walt Disney Records.
This is Swift's first Disney original song and her first release since The Life of a Showgirl, the 2025 album that earned her a ninth Grammy and extended her record as the most-decorated artist in Grammy history. It is also the first collaboration between the world's biggest pop star and the world's biggest animation franchise — a crossover that, on paper, looks almost inevitable in retrospect.
The Toy Story 5 soundtrack, scored by Randy Newman, will be available on all platforms June 19. "I Knew It, I Knew You" is streaming now.
WHY IT MATTERS: This is peak-of-summer Swift dropping brand new music tied to one of the most anticipated films of the year. Whatever your opinion of either party, it's going to be everywhere. Listen before someone spoils it for you.
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