Taylor Swift is officially in her Toy Story era, making an appearance at the Toy Story 5 premiere in Los Angeles on Tuesday night.
The superstar has an original song, titled “I Knew It, I Knew You,” in the film, which she wrote and produced alongside frequent collaborator Jack Antonoff. Though Swift was not included on the guest list sent to press ahead of the premiere, she hit the carpet ahead of the screening wearing a short neutral-colored dress that featured a floral design.
The Grammy winner arrived on the carpet, which took over Hollywood Boulevard in front of the Dolby Theatre, from an area blocked from press and guests. She joined the film’s stars and filmmakers for a group photo as well as with the life-size versions of the iconic characters.
After the carpet and screening, Swift surprised the audience with a performance of “I Knew It, I Knew You” as she played the piano. Randy Newman later joined her on stage and they also performed together his beloved 1995 song “You’ve Got a Friend in Me.” In between songs, Swift told the crowd, “It means the world to me to be a small part of the universe of these films and Toy Story 5 is my favorite of all the Toy Stories, I’m so lucky that I get to be a part of this.
“I Knew It, I Knew You” dropped on June 5, two weeks ahead of the film’s release, and broke multiple streaming records within its first 24 hours. The song marks a return to Swift’s country roots and was inspired by cowgirl Jessie’s journey in the new movie.
“Writing this song felt like a musical departure and coming home at the same time. 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,” Swift wrote in an Instagram post timed to the song.
She also thanked writer-director Andrew Stanton and Randy Newman, who composed the film’s iconic score and wrote “You’ve Got a Friend in Me,” for “the gorgeous sonic tapestry of songs and scores you’ve meticulously woven over the years. You created the Toy Story musical world, and we are lucky to get to live in it.” Swift added that she Antonoff “wrote this with so much adoration for these characters that made us laugh and helped us learn lessons and think outside the backyard all throughout our childhoods.”
Toy Story 5, which sees Buzz, Woody, Jessie and the rest of the gang threatened when a tablet is introduced into their kid’s home, hits theaters June 19.
