Taylor Swift performs duet with Randy Newman at Toy Story 5 premiere

Taylor Swift took to the stage told the crowd she feels “very lucky” to have written a track for Toy Story 5

Taylor Swift has written a story for Toy Story 5 (Doug Peters/PA)

Taylor Swift performed a duet of You’ve Got A Friend In Me alongside Oscar-winning singer Randy Newman at the Toy Story 5 premiere on Tuesday.

The pop superstar also performed a rendition of the song she wrote for the new film – titled I Knew It, I Knew You – as she made her surprise appearance at the event at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

Swift, 36, wore a vibrant floor-length yellow gown as she took to the stage and, in a video shared to X, she told the crowd she feels “very lucky” to have written a track for Toy Story 5.

The chart-topper added that it “means the world to me” to join the Pixar franchise and called it an “honour” to write for toy cowgirl Jessie, voiced by Joan Cusack in the film.

Taylor Swift has a friend in Randy Newman at the world premiere of Toy Story 5 pic.twitter.com/DRe55mo6IP

— Pixar (@Pixar) June 10, 2026

Swift then introduced Newman for a slow piano rendition of You’ve Got A Friend In Me, the theme song he wrote for the original 1995 movie.

The musician is famed for writing the songs and scores for the popular animated film franchise, having won an Oscar for his track We Belong Together – which he penned for the third film.

In another video shared to X, Swift was seen playing the piano as she performed her original song for the film, marking its live debut.

The star returned to her country roots for the track, which also marks her reunion with long-time collaborator Jack Antonoff – who was absent from her most recent album The Life Of A Showgirl.

Taylor Swift surprised audiences at the world premiere of Toy Story 5 with a performance of her new original song for the film “I Knew It, I Knew You” pic.twitter.com/WMK2NiqJIq

— Pixar (@Pixar) June 10, 2026

Swift finally confirmed her involvement in Toy Story 5 last week and said she had “always dreamed” of writing for the films.

The award-winning singer also said she was a “Toy Story kid from the age of 5” and reflected on how writing the track felt “like a musical departure and coming home at the same time”.

The announcement came after a number of clues that sparked rumours, including a series of “TS” billboards – a play on Toy Story and Swift’s shared initials – appearing in various cities including London, Mexico City and Los Angeles, featuring the same blue and white cloud imagery that is synonymous with the film.

One video of a TS billboard shared by Pixar featured Jessie dancing in front of it. The post was captioned: “She’s making those moves up as she goes!” which refers to a Swift song lyric.

The billboards also feature 13 clouds – a nod to Swift’s favourite number.