Taylor Swift and Toy Story 5 collab confirmed: How the internet solved the clues

Buzz, Woody, Jessie, and the Toy Story gang have got a friend in someone very special indeed - Taylor Swift.

The internet was jangling like a brand new Slinky Dog on someone’s birthday with speculation that the pop megastar has a song included in the soundtrack to Toy Story 5 which opens in the UK on 19 June. That speculation has now proved to be true after it was revealed that an original song by Taylor called I Knew It, I Knew You, will be featured on the soundtrack.

In the run-up to the announcement, Taylor Swift's official website sparked speculation among fans after unveiling a countdown clock. The teaser featured a billboard displaying the initials "TS" in the iconic Toy Story font, while the character Jessie could be seen peering from inside a cabin - details that quickly fuelled theories across social media about a possible upcoming announcement.

Why did fans think Taylor Swift is involved with Toy Story 5?

Various official social accounts had been referenced by fans as evidence that Toy Story is going to be more like Tay Story this time around.

The film franchise’s official Instagram account posted a video of Jessie the cowgirl doll dancing in front of a huge billboard with the traditional Toy Story blue-sky-and-clouds backdrop. While there was more than enough room to fit the full title of the movie on the advert, it simply says ‘TS’ - initials shared by the movie and a certain Taylor Swift.

The clues continued. Taylor was recently photographed in an outfit matching the blue, white, and yellow of the Toy Story logo colour scheme and streaming platforms had altered elements of her album art. On Spotify, the birds in the background of 1989 were now clouds (the same as the Toy Story poster) and the typeface of the album on Apple Music had been switched to the yellow used in the film’s title art.

Did the clues add up?

Many fans believed the clues on her website suggested there could be more to the story.

Even though all the clues seemed to be connecting up, a spokesperson for the film originally said that the final version of Toy Story 5 was finished - and Taylor Swift was not involved.

For many, that seemed like the end of the rumours. However, on 31 May, Pixar - the animation company involved in the Toy Story films since 1995 - posted an image of another billboard. It showed the TS initial again, along with a caption of 13 cloud emoji’s. Thirteen is said to be Taylor’s lucky number after she mentioned in an interview how it had featured in so many positive moments in her life. This includes her date of birth, her row number in the auditorium when winning awards, and her first number one hit having an intro that was 13 seconds long. Despite the denial, was it another clue?

All the speculation is fun, but it is worth remembering that until Taylor Swift, or one of her team - or even one of the Toy Story team - announced that she definitely has a song on the Toy Story 5 soundtrack it is always just that - speculation.

Taylor and the film's official team are what is known as a primary source for information, and the one that you should trust.

It’s still important to check for multiple sources - and make sure they are reliable ones.

Taylor fans had pieced together what they say is evidence based on different posts - but this could also be an example of research bias - a type of confirmation bias. It happens when we only seek out opinions that agree with what we believe and ignore anything which disproves it. If you really want it to be true, and you seek out other fan accounts with the same theories, your social media algorithm will keep sending you the same speculation, and not the confirmation you’re looking for.

It seems that Taylor has finally broken her silence. It's been like waiting weeks for that new toy you’re really, really desperate to play with.

This article was published in June 2026