WASHINGTON: Global pop star Taylor Swift has announced that she has written and recorded an original song for Pixar’s upcoming animated film Toy Story 5, according to Billboard.
The singer revealed that her new track, titled I Knew It, I Knew You, will feature on the soundtrack of the fifth instalment of the popular franchise. The song is set to be released on June 19, the same day the film is scheduled to arrive in cinemas.
Sharing the news on Instagram, Swift said she had long hoped to write for the iconic characters.
“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,” Swift wrote, according to Billboard.
She added that she was inspired to write the song immediately after an early screening of the film.
“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,” she said.
“Sometimes you just know, right?” she added.
Physical copies of I Knew It, I Knew You, including acoustic and piano versions, are currently available via Swift’s official website.
The announcement followed a Toy Story-themed countdown on her website, which featured Jessie waving from the corner of the screen. It also displayed a “TS” billboard, similar to blue-and-yellow signs that recently appeared in several locations worldwide.
Pixar had been teasing Swift’s involvement in advance, sharing images of the billboards and a video of Jessie dancing beside one. Fans also noted that the billboard design included 13 clouds, widely seen as a reference to Swift’s lucky number.
In a post on 30 May, Pixar referenced Swift’s song Shake It Off, writing: “She’s making those moves up as she goes!”
The collaboration could potentially earn Swift her first Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song. Composer Randy Newman previously received Oscar nominations for songs across the first four Toy Story films, winning for We Belong Together from Toy Story 3.
Toy Story 5 will see Tom Hanks and Tim Allen reprise their roles as Woody and Buzz Lightyear. The film follows the toys as they face competition for children’s attention from a new tablet device called Lilypad.
Swift has previously contributed to film soundtracks, including Sweeter Than Fiction for One Chance and Carolina for Where the Crawdads Sing. She also voiced Audrey in the 2012 animated film The Lorax, according to Billboard.
Her most recent album, The Life of a Showgirl, spent 12 weeks at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, featuring the single The Fate of Ophelia, which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for 10 weeks.
(With inputs from PTI)