Following the history-making success of her latest album, The Life of a Showgirl, 14-time Grammy Award-winning artist Taylor Swift has announced (via Toonado.com) a brand-new original song, "I Knew It, I Knew You," for Disney and Pixar's Toy Story 5.
The new song—written and produced by Taylor Swift and Jack Antonoff—releases wherever music is streamed and purchased on Friday, June 5. The single will be featured on the Toy Story 5 soundtrack when it releases on June 19, but has yet to be previewed by Swift or Disney.
Pre-sales began today on Taylor Swift's website (following one of the singer's trademark countdowns) for three exclusive CD editions that 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.
A Disney press release mentions that the song is inspired by Jessie's ongoing journey that began back in Toy Story 2, lending some weight to theories that Swift will also lend her voice to the cowgirl's original owner, Emily.
Apparently, the song also marks a return to Taylor Swift's country roots, blending styles that have defined her record-breaking career as a songwriter and artist.
Toy Story director and screenwriter Andrew Stanton said today, "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."
Swift, meanwhile, wrote on Instagram, "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. 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?"
The announcement follows a series of "TS" billboards—a play on Toy Story and Taylor Swift’s shared initials—that appeared over the weekend in LA, Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco, Toronto, Mexico City, and London.
The toys are back in Disney and Pixar's Toy Story 5, and this time it’s Toy meets Tech. Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), Jessie (Joan Cusack) and the rest of the gang's jobs are challenged when they come face-to-face with Lilypad (Greta Lee), a brand-new tablet device that arrives with her own disruptive ideas about what is best for their kid, Bonnie. Will playtime ever be the same?
The movie is directed by Academy Award winner Andrew Stanton, co-directed by Kenna Harris, produced by Lindsey Collins, p.g.a., and written by Stanton and Harris from a story by Stanton.
The film features an original score by Oscar-winning Randy Newman, who returns to the franchise with Toy Story 5. The movie arrives in theaters on June 19.