Taylor Swift is Heading to Toy Story 5 and Bringing Her Country Roots Back!
Oh my gosh, fellow Swifties, take a deep breath because we are officially not crazy! Remember when we were squinting at our screens, analyzing every single frame of the Opalite music video that gave us all the 90s vibes, and then we counted the exactly 13 clouds on billboards over the world, we noticed the overlapping “TS” logos and everyone told us we were reaching. Well, validation has never tasted so sweet. Our resident mastermind has done it again, and the clown attire we’ve been wearing all week can officially be traded in for cowgirl boots.
Related – See Jessie, Woody, and Buzz On Stage at The El Capitan Theatre for “Toy Story 5”
It feels like absolute kismet. Following the massive, history-making whirlwind of her latest album The Life of a Showgirl, Taylor is casually dropping a brand-new original song called “I Knew It, I Knew You” for Disney and Pixar’s Toy Story 5. It honestly brings up so much nostalgia just thinking about it. For so many of us, Toy Story was the backdrop of our childhoods, and Taylor was the soundtrack to our teenage heartbreaks. Seeing these two pillars of our youth collide in 2026 is enough to make any grown Swiftie want to sob into their old childhood toys.
And let’s be real, this track is going to absolutely devastate us. Written and produced alongside her partner-in-crime Jack Antonoff, the song drops this Friday, June 5. If that isn’t enough to make your wallet sweat, pre-sales have already started on Taylor’s website for three exclusive CD editions. Because of course she’s giving us options: the film version, a special acoustic version, and a piano version, each with completely unique vocals and production. It’s like she knows exactly how to target our bank accounts, and honestly, we are more than willing victims.
What is really sending emotional shockwaves through the fandom, though, is the inspiration behind the track. The song is deeply tied to our favorite rootin’ tootin’ cowgirl, Jessie, tracking her emotional journey that started all the way back in Toy Story 2. Because of that, “I Knew It, I Knew You” is officially marking Taylor’s grand return to her country roots. The second that was announced, every single one of us had the exact same thought: Debut Taylor is coming back (we can dream!). We’ve been dreaming of those teardrops on guitars and that classic country twang for years, and it feels like we are finally standing on the precipice of getting it back.
Even the director and screenwriter of the film, Andrew Stanton, is completely enchanted. He mentioned how incredible it was to have Taylor on board, noting that her connection to Jessie’s struggles was instant. He said that the very first time they listened to the track, it felt like a long-lost family member that had always belonged in the Toy Story universe. It just goes to show that no matter how big of a global pop titan she becomes, Taylor’s core superpower will always be her unparalleled, raw ability to tap into the human condition, or in this case, a toy’s condition and make us feel everything all at once.
The rollout for this has been classic, brilliant Taylor. Over the weekend, mysterious billboards playing on the shared initials of “TS” (Toy Story meets Taylor Swift) popped up in major cities from Los Angeles and Dallas to Mexico City and London. Pair that with the ticking countdown clock on her website, and the hype was dialed up to eleven. The countdown is over, the news is real, and now we just have to survive the agonizing wait until Friday. Get your tissues ready, because this one is going to hit us right in our childhood.
Credit: Pixar
