Taylor Swift's ‘Toy Story 5' song is real. Here's when it arrives
Taylor Swift is joining Pixar's "Toy Story" universe.
Swift announced Monday, June 1, that she has written and recorded a new original song, "I Knew It, I Knew You," for "Toy Story 5," the latest sequel from Emeryville-based Pixar Animation Studios.
The track is set for release Friday, June 5, ahead of the film's June 19 theatrical opening.
The announcement confirms weeks of online speculation that began in late April, when Swift's website briefly displayed a countdown with imagery resembling the blue sky and clouds long associated with the "Toy Story" films.
Swift later teased the reveal with a new countdown featuring Jessie, the cowgirl toy voiced by Joan Cusack, and a "Toy Story 5" billboard in the background.
"It's a Toy Story," Swift wrote Monday in a social media post announcing the song. "You knew it!"
The song follows Jessie's arc in the new film and has been described as a return to Swift's country roots.
Swift wrote that she had "always dreamed" of writing for the characters she has loved since seeing the first "Toy Story" film as a child.
"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," Swift wrote. "Sometimes you just know, right?"
Director and screenwriter Andrew Stanton said in a statement that Swift quickly understood Jessie's emotional place in the story.
"The song is so deeply connected to ‘Toy Story,'" Stanton said. "It was kismet."
The song's release follows a month of clues that sent Swift fans searching for hints. A mysterious "TS" billboard campaign appeared in several cities, pairing yellow letters with the familiar "Toy Story" cloud background. Fans also noted that some billboards appeared to feature 13 clouds, a number closely associated with Swift.
Speculation intensified last week after Stanton, co-director McKenna "Kenna" Harris and producer Lindsey Collins appeared to downplay rumors that Swift had written the movie's closing song.
Stanton said in an interview that the end song was not by Swift, but he did not rule out her involvement elsewhere in the film.
"Toy Story 5" brings back Tom Hanks as the voice of Woody, Tim Allen as Buzz Lightyear and Cusack as Jessie as well as the rest of the franchise's toy ensemble as they face a new challenge: a child's growing attachment to technology. Disney's official synopsis says Bonnie's toys are disrupted by Lilypad, a tablet device voiced by Greta Lee, whose arrival threatens to change playtime.
Datebook Picks
Music
Early 2000s star brings first solo album in more than a decade to Oakland
Movies & TV
Roxie retrospective brings John Alton's film noir mastery back to the Bay Area
Music
Claire Rosinkranz brings a slice of girlhood to S.F.
The voice cast also includes Conan O'Brien, Keanu Reeves, Annie Potts, Alan Cumming and Bad Bunny, who was recently announced as the voice of a new character named Pizza With Sunglasses.
The film marks a return to the franchise for Stanton, a Pixar veteran whose credits include "Finding Nemo" (2003), "WALL-E" (2008) and "Finding Dory" (2016). He co-wrote the previous four "Toy Story" films and wrote "Toy Story 5" with Harris.
Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.