Taylor Swift had two tricks up her sleeve on June 9, 2026. First, she made an unexpected appearance at the “Toy Story 5” premiere in Los Angeles — walking the red carpet, greeting young fans, and sitting in the audience with her parents. Second, she shocked the audience after the movie by performing her new song from the soundtrack, “I Knew It, I Knew You,” and singing with Disney music icon Randy Newman.
Luckily, fans were allowed to keep their phones out as former “The Voice” advisor Swift revealed a wardrobe change — going from a short, off-the-shoulder, Erdem Moralıoğlu-designed dress to a sparkling, yellow gown reminiscent of Belle in “Beauty and the Beast” — as she appeared at a grand piano on the stage. EntertainmentNow has scoured our socials for the very BEST videos of every angle and moment we could find. Enjoy the show, Swifties!
Taylor Swift Performs ‘I Knew It, I Knew You’ for the 1st Time LIVE
After the L.A. premiere of “Toy Story 5,” a video posted by Deadline showed how Swift was revealed behind the giant screen, sitting at a grand piano on a platform. Note all the screams — the crowd was a mix of adults and kids — and all the phone screens up, recording the magical moment as Swift played the intro to her new hit, performing it live for the first time.
After days of speculation that Swift had some sort of involvement in the fifth installment of the “Toy Story” franchise, the megastar confirmed the news on June 1 by sharing a snippet of “I Knew It, I Knew You” and writing on social media that she had “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.”
Swift continued, “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.” When the country-infused bop was released on June 5, it shattered streaming records across Apple Music, Spotify, and Amazon, according to Complex.
In the zoomed-in video above, which shows almost the entire performance, Swift seemed to keep smiling at audience members near the stage as she sang. Many fans who commented on videos of her performance noted they’re now longing for an acoustic version of the bop, which she created with longtime pal and producer Jack Antonoff.
One fan who nabbed a ticket to the premiere showed just how shocked she was, sitting in the audience and getting an up-close concert from Swift. She wrote in the caption, “IM ACTUALLY SPEECHLESS RN” and her comment section was flooded with fans writing notes like “😭😭😭😭😭 I AM SCREAMING”
Taylor Swift Delivered a Heartwarming Speech, Thanking All Who Worked on ‘Toy Story 5’
After performing her new hit song, Swift got up from the piano and beamed as she gracefully walked toward the audience. As the applause subsided, she said, “I would just like to say 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 of the ‘Toy Stories.'”
“I’m so lucky that I get to be a part of this,” she continued, “and I want to thank all of the creators at Disney and Pixar for all the work they put into this film. It’s insanely beautiful. It’s a masterpiece. We’re so lucky to get to have this film out. Your work is amazing and I hope you’re all so proud of yourselves. If you’re in this room and you worked on this film, thank you so much.”
The crowd gave a loud round of applause for the creatives behind the film, and then Swift continued, “I would like to say that Joan Cusack has done such an extraordinary job as Jessie. It was an honor to write for her. And I’m very lucky that I got to write for this film, and that’s all thanks to Andrew Stanton and Kenna Harris, who wrote and directed the film …”
Swift waited for the audience, clapping and screaming for Stanton and Harris, before saying, “and thought of me and reached out to me and let me get to experience it and be inspired by it.”
Taylor Swift Brought Out Randy Newman for a Duet of ‘You’ve Got a Friend in Me’
But I’m also lucky enough to be here because of someone else who is the architect of the ‘Toy Story’ musical universe. He is the king of making us feel the absolute most and pulling at our heartstrings and making us laugh. And making us (feel) like he’s one of our friends, you know what I mean?”
“I’m talking about Randy Newman,” Swift smiled, and suddenly a door opened on the stage and the 82-year-old, legendary composer floated out to the stage, sitting at the piano on a moving platform.
When Swift asked Newman if he wanted to play a little something, he launched into the beginning notes of “You’ve Got a Friend in Me,” the biggest hit from the original “Toy Story” movie in 1995. Nominated for an Academy Award (it lost out to “Colors of the Wind” from “Pocahontas”), it remains an iconic tune that’s stood the test of time.
Swift couldn’t help but mouth the words, singing along as she delighted in hearing Newman sing before she sang the second verse. When she sang the line, “Some people might be a little bit smarter than I am,” Newman made her laugh when he quipped, “No one’s smarter than you!”
“Toy Story 5” will hit theaters on June 19.
