Taylor Swift was keen to write an original song for Toy Story 5, but said she did not want to take the opportunity away from another artist. She discussed the song’s development during a Q&A with director Andrew Stanton after a special screening on November 1, according to Billboard.
Stanton said Swift was the only person he wanted for the job as he sought a different musical direction for the new film. Randy Newman has written music for the Toy Story series since the original film in 1995. Stanton said, “Nothing else made sense.”
Swift was initially unavailable, and Stanton said the film might not have had an original end-credits song. While she took several months to respond, Swift continued checking in to see whether the filmmakers still wanted her or had asked someone else. She said she would have understood if they had moved on.
“I don’t want to kick somebody off of this project that you reached out to after [me],” Swift said. “I understand, but I’m not in the business of doing that.”
Swift ultimately wrote “I Knew It, I Knew You.” The song reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and broke multiple records. A Toy Story 5 producer also wrote Swift a personal letter asking her to contribute the song.
Sources: Just Jared.