Taylor Swift has revealed that she wrote and recorded her new theme for Toy Story 5 in just eight hours, calling it a “hectic day”.
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The pop giant released ‘I Knew It, I Knew You’ earlier this month, with the warm and nostalgic track marking a return to her country roots. It soundtracks the end credits of the Pixar sequel, which arrives in cinemas today (Friday June 19).
Yesterday (Thursday June 18), Swift shared an Instagram post about her contribution to the film. “Oh how I love this phenomenal movie,” she wrote in the caption.
The carousel included a childhood photograph of the singer and a clip of her in the recording studio. In the latter, she broke down the process of creating ‘I Knew It, I Knew You’ in a tight timeframe.
“Been kind of a hectic day,” Swift explains in the video as she sits behind a console with a pair of headphones in her hands. “At 11am, went to go see Toy Story 5, got so inspired, got the songwriter zoomies, went home, wrote the end credit song for Toy Story 5.
“We have now produced it, and I’m doing vocals. It’s 6:57pm. In two hours, [Disney’s] Bob Iger and Tom from Pixar are coming to hear it.
“We have not recorded it yet. And I think this is one of the most fun days of my life.”
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Stars of the film revealed at the premiere that they weren’t officially made aware that Swift had recorded the end credits theme until shortly before the public announcement. Disney made a “decoy version” of Toy Story 5 to keep her involvement a secret, even from the cast and crew.
In a previous statement, Swift said: “I’ve always dreamed of getting to write for these characters who I’ve adored since I was a five-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?”
‘I Knew It, I Knew You’ was co-written and co-produced by Swift’s frequent collaborator Jack Antonoff. The single was written from the perspective of cowgirl Jessie, who takes centre stage in Toy Story 5.
Swift had teased her new theme song by posting a cryptic countdown on her website in May, with fans speculating over numerous other clues online.
The track marks Swift’s first material since her 12th and latest studio album, last year’s ‘The Life Of A Showgirl’.
Swift gave ‘I Knew It, I Knew You’ its live debut when she made a surprise appearance at the Toy Story 5 premiere. She also joined Randy Newman to perform a duet of Toy Story‘s original main theme ‘You’ve Got a Friend in Me’.
She called the sequel “insanely beautiful” at the event, adding: “It’s a masterpiece.” Swift explained (via Variety): “It means the world to me to be a small part of the universe of these films. Toy Story 5 is my favourite of all the Toy Storys. I’m so lucky I get to be a part of this.”
Meanwhile, Swift was spotted leaving Electric Lady Studios in New York following a nine-hour overnight recording session earlier this week. She was with Haim‘s Alana and Danielle Haim.