Taylor Swift Dashed Off a ‘Toy Story 5’ Song in Just One Day, Blame the “Songwriter Zoomies”

Taylor Swift is crediting a burst of creative energy for the remarkably quick turnaround on her original song for Toy Story 5. The pop star sat down with an early screening of the film, felt the creative spark ignite, and headed straight to the studio—where she and longtime collaborator Jack Antonoff knocked out the entire track before day’s end.

Swift called the experience “songwriter zoomies,” the kind of uncontrollable creative urge that takes over when inspiration strikes. She posted behind-the-scenes footage from the session, describing how the process felt like “second nature all at once,” even though writing a film song was new territory for her.

The result: “I Knew It, I Knew You,” an emotional ballad that lands somewhere between her songwriting sensibilities and the nostalgia-drenched world of Pixar’s beloved franchise. Both Swift and Antonoff grew up with Toy Story, a detail that clearly seeped into the song’s DNA.

The track has already made waves. At the Toy Story 5 premiere in Los Angeles earlier this month, Swift performed “I Knew It, I Knew You” and teamed up with legendary composer Randy Newman for a rendition of the franchise’s iconic theme, “You’ve Got a Friend in Me.”

Toy Story 5 hits theaters June 19, with Swift’s original song already live on streaming platforms. One more reminder that sometimes the best creative work happens when you simply follow the creative impulse and run with it.