Taylor Swift celebrated her new, record-breaking “Toy Story 5” anthem, titled “I Knew It, I Knew You,” with a live performance at the film’s world premiere Tuesday.
Several days after dropping the track amid intense fan speculation, the pop superstar took the stage at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles to perform the song live for the first time. Dressed in a floor-length yellow gown, Swift played a piano-rendition of “”I Knew It, I Knew You.”
Watch a snippet of her performance below.
Taylor Swift performs “I Knew It I Knew You” at the #ToyStory5 premiere pic.twitter.com/gbBgajXopg
— TheWrap (@TheWrap) June 10, 2026
Swift performed a second time at the premiere, singing “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” alongside legend Randy Newman. However, for this number, Swift let Newman takeover the piano, providing simply the vocals for the performance.
Randy Newman and Taylor Swift sing “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” together at the #ToyStory5 world premiere pic.twitter.com/44e4zJJHt5
— TheWrap (@TheWrap) June 10, 2026
However, before the performance, the singer took a moment to walk the premiere’s step and repeat, where she wore an off-the-shoulder, crystal-embellished dress by Erdem.
The singer was seen mingling with “Toy Story 5” star Joan Cusack, whose character Jessie served as the inspiration for the new country song.
Taylor Swift and Joan Cusack have a laugh together at the #ToyStory5 premiere pic.twitter.com/EY2Cj1eFgr
— TheWrap (@TheWrap) June 10, 2026
Swift’s appearance at Tuesday’s premiere came after the Grammy winner sent Swifties into a tizzy with Easter eggs about her involvement with “Toy Story 5.”
Speculation that Swift was set to release a song for “Toy Story 5” sprung up at the start of May, when a mysterious countdown appeared on the singer’s website for 2 p.m. ET on May 2. The countdown in-question was set atop a white cloud and pale blue wallpaper – a print similar to the one seen in Andy’s bedroom in the “Toy Story” franchise.
The countdown soon vanished, but the incident sparked the growing “Taylor Swift x ‘Toy Story’” fan theory, leading Swifties to overanalyze her fashion choices, a carefully worded denial from the film’s director and notably vague billboards across the globe.
Then, last week, Swift confirmed that she had written a track for the next “Toy Story” movie, sharing the song title in the process.
“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,” she said in a social media post at the time. “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?”
Director and screenwriter Andrew Stanton celebrated the collaboration with a statement of his own, noting, “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.”
Then, on June 5, Swift commemorated the release of “I Knew It, I Knew You” by sharing a home video of herself dressed as a cowgirl as a child. She also penned a lengthy note to fans, in which she said writing the new song for Cusack’s character Jessie felt like “coming home.”
“Writing this song felt like a musical departure and coming home at the same time,” Swift shared on Instagram. “Creating something for Jessie was a new challenge and also felt like second nature all at once. And being a @toystory kid from the age of 5 til now… is an adventure I plan to be on, to infinity and beyond.”
