Taylor Swift opened up about writing her original Toy Story 5 song “I Knew It, I Knew You” during the “Toy Story: 30 Years and Beyond” special on 20/20, sharing that a line about Jessie’s final moments “broke” her heart—even as she said she’s thrilled to give
Taylor Swift expected the studio visit to feel special. She didn’t expect the lyric to land like a gut punch.
On the “Toy Story: 30 Years and Beyond” special on 20/20. which aired Friday. June 12. Swift. 36. looked back on recording an original song for Toy Story 5—and the specific moment that made her emotional. Her involvement came through the track she wrote. “I Knew It. I Knew You. ” created to accommodate a new backstory for cowgirl figurine Jessie. voiced by Joan Cusack.
Swift said there was one line she wrote that tugged hardest. “For Jessie. I feel like the line. ‘I watched you drive around the bend for what I thought would be the last time I saw my friend. ’ that hits me really hard because that movie just broke my heart. ” she said. “So I’m really happy to like, give her a happy moment.”.
Toy Story veterans Tom Hanks and Tim Allen also spoke on the special about how Swift’s role was handled behind the scenes. Hanks. 69. said they were pulled into a room and told to keep quiet: “They literally pulled us into a room and said. ‘Shut the door.’” Allen. 73. added that he assumed the secrecy meant something even bigger: “I thought they were going to say. ‘Aliens are real.’”.
Swift, meanwhile, said she felt grateful for the chance to write for the latest instalment. In a preview for the 20/20 sit-down. she said she felt “wonderful” knowing she had Randy Newman’s blessing to write for the film. explaining. “I’m the first songwriter to get to partake in the Toy Story world outside of Randy.” She also described being captivated by the movie itself: “I was absolutely dazzled by [the movie]. It is my favorite Toy Story movie. Don’t mind me, just really liked the movie.”.
Her excitement didn’t stop at the recording booth. Swift recently teamed up with Newman, 82, for a duet of his song “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” at the Los Angeles premiere on Tuesday, June 9. At the screening that followed, she also performed “I Knew It, I Knew You” for the first time.
Swift has said she collaborated with Jack Antonoff on the new song. and she framed the creative process as both a childhood dream and a feeling of returning home. On June 1. she posted to Instagram to announce the single. writing. “It’s a *Toy* Story. ” and describing how she’d always dreamed of writing for the characters she adored since she was “a 5 year old kid watching the first Toy Story movie.” She added that she fell “instantly in love with Toy Story 5 when I was lucky enough to see it in its early stages. ” and that she wrote the song “as soon as I got home from the screening. ” concluding. “Sometimes you just know. right?”.
Days later, on June 5, Swift shared that the experience felt like a journey. In a separate June 5 upload. she wrote that creating something for Jessie “was a new challenge and also felt like second nature all at once. ” adding. “And being a @toystory kid from the age of 5 til now … is an adventure I plan to be on. to infinity and beyond.” She thanked Andrew Stanton for imagining her in the newest film. and she credited Randy Newman as the architect of the world’s sound. writing. “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.”.
She closed with a nod to collaboration and affection for the characters: “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.”
Toy Story 5 hits theaters Friday, June 19.
Taylor Swift Toy Story 5 Toy Story: 30 Years and Beyond 20/20 I Knew It I Knew You Jessie Joan Cusack Tom Hanks Tim Allen Randy Newman Jack Antonoff Andrew Stanton You’ve Got a Friend in Me Los Angeles premiere