Billboard takes you inside Tuesday night’s Hollywood premiere, where Swift’s “I Knew It, I Knew You” live debut was just part of the story.
Taylor Swift attends the Toy Story 5 Los Angeles World Premiere at Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California on June 09, 2026.
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for for TAS Rights Management
Taylor Swift is officially in her Disney Era as of this week, starting with Friday’s release of “I Knew It, I Knew You” for Toy Story 5 and followed by her surprise debut performance of the song at Tuesday night’s (June 9) world premiere of the movie in Hollywood.
Once the Disney Pixar film wrapped up in front of 3,000-plus lucky moviegoers at the Dolby Theatre on Tuesday night, the screen lifted to reveal Swift in a floor-length butter-yellow gown sitting at a piano, ready to live-debut the song the audience had just heard over the film’s end credits. Swift’s vocal perfectly matched the playful country-pop recording, while the acoustic piano backdrop brought some extra emotional weight to the song — especially after the crowd had just audibly sobbed together over Cowgirl Jessie’s poignant Toy Story 5 storyline.
“I would just love 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 Storys,” Swift told the crowd after performing her new song. “I’m so lucky that I get to be a part of this, 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.”
But somehow, the surprise first performance of Swift’s new song was just part of the story. Billboard was inside the world premiere ahead of the film’s July 19 arrival in U.S. theaters, and below are some of our favorite moments from a very special night.
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Taylor Swift’s ‘Fate’-ful Entrance
Whispers about whether or not Swift would attend Tuesday night’s premiere swirled around the Hollywood Boulevard red carpet and inside the lobby, and all the rumors were officially confirmed when the pop superstar walked out into the first level of the Dolby Theatre. As it turned out, Swift had already quietly taken photos on the red carpet alongside the cast and life-size Toy Story 5 characters, but the photo call had taken place away from the general press, therefore keeping the surprise intact.
One person who definitely took note of Swift’s theatrical entrance: the in-house DJ, who swiftly switched the soundtrack to “The Fate of Ophelia,” the lead single from her most recent album, 2025’s The Life of a Showgirl, before the theater lights dimmed and the screening began.
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The End-Credits Reveal
While many were wondering how “I Knew It, I Knew You” would be woven into the Toy Story 5 narrative — especially after early screenings of the film in the U.K. seemingly didn’t include the song, to retain its secrecy — the answer came as the movie wrapped up and the end credits rolled, with Swift’s jangly new tune soundtracking the closing titles.
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The Live Debut of ‘I Knew It, I Knew You’
Swift’s most recent album, The Life of a Showgirl, was released back in October, and fans still haven’t heard a single live performance of any songs from the project. But “I Knew It, I Knew You” came out on Friday, and somehow, a mere four days later, we’ve already heard it live as of Tuesday night.
Even more remarkable: You have to go all the way back to the final show of The Eras Tour, in December 2024, for Swift’s last proper performance. Or if you want to get technical, she did pop up onstage with Kane Brown at her fiancé Travis Kelce’s Tight End University party last June in Nashville to sing “Shake It Off,” but it’s been years since anyone has been treated to a live debut of a song like this one from Swift.
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The Randy Newman Duet
The Disney magic didn’t end with Swift’s new song: She followed up her performance with kind words for Joan Cusack, the voice behind Cowgirl Jessie (“It was an honor to write for her”) as well as for the film’s directors/writers Andrew Stanton and McKenna Harris.
But she saved her highest praise for a certain singer/songwriter. “I’m also lucky enough to be here because of someone else who is the architect of the Toy Story Musical Universe,” she began. “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 he’s one of our friends, you know what I mean? I’m talking about Randy Newman.”
In the second big post-film reveal, another screen lifted to reveal Newman at a piano playing the familiar intro of the series’ lovable theme song “You’ve Got a Friend in Me.” “You feel like playing a song? You’re all set up to do it,” Swift teased Newman, who kicked off the duet before Swift picked up the second verse. Adorably, when Swift sang the line “Some other folks might be a little bit smarter than I am,” Newman interjected, “No one’s smarter than you!”
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Today Was a Good Day
“This feels like a really good day, just personally,” Swift quipped onstage between her two performances. Tuesday night’s moviegoers likely agreed, as they made their way out of the film premiere-slash-private Taylor Swift and Randy Newman concert to a Hollywood Boulevard completely blocked off from Highland Avenue to Orange Drive for a red-carpet afterparty. Adults and kids alike were climbing rock walls next to the Roosevelt Hotel or eating Froot Loops from a cereal bar under the marquee of El Capitan Theater or posing next to Porsches designed to match Toy Story 5 characters, among countless other activities stretching across the typically traffic-packed city block. The magic of Disney isn’t just reserved for movie screens and theme parks, as it turns out.
