Taylor Swift brought one of the biggest surprises of the summer movie season to Los Angeles on Monday night (June 9), making an unexpected appearance at the world premiere of Toy Story 5. The global superstar not only performed her new original song “I Knew It, I Knew You” for the first time, but also joined legendary songwriter Randy Newman for a special rendition of “You’ve Got a Friend in Me.”
The appearance marked another major moment in the rollout surrounding Toy Story 5, which is set to arrive in theaters later this month. Fans attending the premiere were treated to a rare live performance of “I Knew It, I Knew You,” the song Swift wrote and produced alongside longtime collaborator Jack Antonoff specifically for the film.
Speaking onstage, Swift reflected on what the opportunity meant to her and praised the filmmakers behind the beloved Pixar franchise.
“I would just like to say it means the world to me to be a small part of the universe of these films and Toy Story 5 is my favourite of all of the Toy Stories,” she told the audience.
“I’m so lucky that I get to be a part of this. And I want to thank all of the creators at Disney and Pixar for all the work they put into this film. It’s insanely beautiful. It’s a masterpiece.”
The singer continued by directly addressing the creative team behind the project.
“We’re so lucky to get to have this film out. Your work is amazing and I hope you’re all so proud of yourselves if you’re in this room and you worked on this film.”
The premiere arrives just days after “I Knew It, I Knew You” exploded onto streaming platforms. Released on June 5 through Walt Disney Records, the track debuted at No. 1 on Spotify’s Daily Global Chart with 8.777 million streams, setting a new record for the biggest opening day ever for a soundtrack song in Spotify history.
The achievement adds another major milestone to Swift’s career. The song also secured the 12th-largest global Spotify debut of 2026 and ranked as the third-biggest opening day among female artists this year, behind only Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drop Dead” and Ariana Grande’s “hate that i made you love me.”
Inspired by Jessie’s emotional storyline throughout the Toy Story franchise, the track represents Swift’s first new music release since The Life of a Showgirl. Shortly after its release, she described the creative process as both challenging and familiar.
“Writing this song felt like a musical departure and coming home at the same time,” Swift shared. “Creating something for Jessie was a new challenge and also felt like second nature all at once.”
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