Taylor Swift says she could not have written her Toy Story 5 song until she reached her 30s.
Swift, 36, spoke about "I Knew It, I Knew You" during a recent Critics Choice Association press conference. She wrote the song with frequent collaborator Jack Antonoff for Jessie, the cowgirl voiced by Joan Cusack.
Jessie's story is the reason. In 1999's Toy Story 2, Jessie believed her owner, Emily, had abandoned her, but the new film shows Emily always remembered her. Swift said the lessons Jessie learns resonated with her, and that it takes a long time to process memory with acceptance.
She said she wanted to hint at Randy Newman's "When She Loved Me" and then heal it, as a gift to Jessie. Swift also said performing with Newman at the film's premiere was her favorite moment of the project.
She described the gratitude in the song as something she has arrived at more recently in her life.
The track has made history already. After its June release, it became the most-streamed country song in a single day by a female artist in Spotify history. Swift is now campaigning for an Oscar nomination for the song.
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