Taylor Swift Says She Tried to Channel Randy Newman on ‘I Knew It, I Knew You’
What's happening
Taylor Swift has discussed her approach to writing 'I Knew It, I Knew You,' a song for Toy Story 5, revealing that she drew inspiration from Randy Newman's songwriting style. The singer-songwriter made these comments during a rare appearance across three country radio stations.
Who's involved
Taylor Swift, an American singer-songwriter known for her autobiographical writing and artistic reinventions, is the highest-grossing live music artist and one of the best-selling music artists of all time. Randy Newman, an American singer-songwriter and composer born into a family of Hollywood film composers, has worked extensively in film scoring for Disney and Pixar since the 1990s and is known for his Americana-inspired songs and satirical lyrics.
Why it matters
Swift's creative process for film work and her choice of artistic influences provide insight into how established artists approach songwriting for major studio projects. The appearance across multiple country radio stations underscores Swift's continued engagement with the country music community, despite her genre evolution over her career.
The story
Taylor Swift has opened up about the creative inspiration behind 'I Knew It, I Knew You,' her contribution to the upcoming Toy Story 5 soundtrack, saying she attempted to channel the songwriting approach of Randy Newman during the writing process. According to Rolling Stone, Swift discussed her work on the song during a rare appearance across three country radio stations, offering listeners a glimpse into her artistic choices for the film project.
Newman, whose extended family background in Hollywood film composition deeply influenced his own career trajectory, has become one of the most prolific composers in animated film, having scored numerous projects for Disney and Pixar. His distinctive style—marked by Americana-influenced melodies, non-rhotic Southern-accented vocals, and often mordant or satirical lyrics delivered through unreliable narrators—has established him as a master of character-driven songwriting. Swift's decision to emulate Newman's approach suggests she was aiming for a similarly narrative-rich and emotionally nuanced composition for the Toy Story franchise.
Swift's work across multiple artistic mediums and her willingness to explore different songwriting styles reflect her broader pattern of artistic reinvention throughout her career. Known primarily for her autobiographical songwriting, which has made her an influential figure in popular culture, Swift continues to expand her creative reach beyond her core album releases into film and television work. Her appearance on country radio stations also signals a continued connection to the genre that launched her early career, even as she has evolved as an artist over the years.
The Toy Story 5 project marks another instance of Swift lending her talents to major studio endeavors, building on her previous film work and demonstrating her versatility as a songwriter across different contexts and audiences. By publicly discussing her inspirations and creative process, Swift offers fans and fellow musicians insight into how established artists approach the unique challenge of writing songs that must serve both the narrative and emotional arc of a feature film while remaining compelling as standalone pieces of music.