Taylor Swift made a surprise appearance at the Hollywood premiere of Toy Story 5 on Tuesday, performing a song she wrote for the animated film and joining composer Randy Newman for a rendition of the franchise's signature tune.
Swift took the stage at the Dolby Theatre in a full-length gown and sat at a piano to perform I Knew It, I Knew You, a new song she wrote for the latest instalment of the Pixar franchise.
The singer, who said she has been a longtime fan of the films, told the audience: “It means the world to me to be a small part of these films”.
She later introduced Newman, the composer behind the Toy Story scores and several of its best-known songs. The pair performed a duet of You've Got a Friend in Me, Newman's hit from the original 1995 movie.
Earlier in the evening, Swift posed on the red carpet with Tom Hanks, Joan Cusack and other members of the film's voice cast.
Toy Story 5, produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney, is scheduled to open in theaters on June 19.
The premiere comes as I Knew It, I Knew You continues to rack up streaming milestones following its release.
Spotify said the track became the most-streamed country song in a single day by a female artist in the platform's history. Apple Music said it set the service's all-time record for the biggest soundtrack single by first-day streams and became its biggest country single of 2026 so far.
Amazon Music said the song recorded the largest 24-hour streaming debut for any track globally on the platform this year.
Swift also released a music video for the song that hints at its connection to Jessie, the cowgirl character from the Toy Story franchise, while offering early glimpses of her relationships with Woody and Buzz Lightyear.
The video ends with a young red-haired girl resembling Jessie playing with the cowgirl doll on a tire swing before falling into a pile of leaves.
“Writing this song felt like a musical departure and coming home at the same time,” she shared on Instagram. “Creating something for Jessie was a new challenge and also felt like second nature all at once. And being a ‘Toy Story’ kid from the age of 5 til now… is an adventure I plan to be on, to infinity and beyond.”