Taylor Swift just announced her involvement in “Toy Story 5” in the most Taylor Swift way possible.
On June 1, the singer confirmed rumors that she has recorded a song for the upcoming Disney film.
“It’s a *Toy* Story 🤠You knew it! My new original song “I Knew It, I Knew You” for Disney and @pixar’s @toystory 5 will be yours on June 5th,” she wrote on Instagram.
The “Opalite” singer said she’s “always dreamed” of writing for the film series’ characters, explaining that she’s “adored” them since she was 5 years old.
“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?” she said.
“Toy Story 5” hits theaters on June 19, but Swift’s fans won’t have to wait that long to listen to the new song. “I Knew It, I Knew You” will be available on June 5.
For the next 48 hours, fans can preorder one of three collector’s edition CDs for $3.99 on the singer’s website while supplies last.
Per a press release, the CDs feature the new single “as it appears in the film, a special acoustic version, and a special piano version, all with unique vocals and production.”
The song, which honors Swift’s “country roots,” will also be featured on the “Toy Story” soundtrack when it’s released on June 19.
Swift wrote and produced the song with Jack Antonoff. Per a press release, “I Knew It, I Knew You” is inspired by “Toy Story” cowgirl Jessie’s “ongoing journey in ‘Toy Story 5’ that began back in ‘Toy Story 2.’”
Over the weekend, Swifties started speculating that the 36-year-old might be involved in “Toy Story 5” after they started spotting billboards with the letters “TS” in bold font.
Those are indeed the initials of the movie, but some thought it was strange that the billboards didn’t feature the number “5” to signify the fifth movie in the franchise.
To further add to the rumors, there were 13 (Swift’s lucky number) clouds painted onto the billboard. Additionally, the Instagram page for “Toy Story” posted a video of the film’s character Jessie dancing in front of the billboard with the caption, “She’s making those moves up as she goes!”
Swifties instantly recognized that as a lyrical reference to the song “Shake It Off.”
When a countdown popped up on Swift’s website, fans became further convinced that new music was coming.
On June 1, the “Toy Story” Instagram page joined Swift in confirming the news.
In a statement, the film’s director and screenwriter, Andrew Stanton, spoke about Swift’s involvement in the film.
“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,” he said.
