Joan Cusack calls Taylor Swift's 'Toy Story 5' song 'beautiful'

Brian Truitt, USA TODAYSun, June 7, 2026 at 12:15 PM UTC

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Taylor Swift is in her cowgirl era, and no one's happier about it than Joan Cusack.

On June 5, Swift dropped the single "I Knew It, I Knew You," a return to her country roots that she wrote for the upcoming Disney/Pixar animated movie "Toy Story 5" (in theaters June 19). The ballad was inspired by Cusack's character in the franchise, the cowgirl rag doll Jessie.

"It's such a good song," Cusack tells USA TODAY. "I love this movie so much, so I'm so glad that it resonated with her and she wanted to write a song for it, because it means so many more people come to see the movie.

"It's a great girl-power movie, and her song is so great. It's beautiful and it fits perfectly."

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Bad news for Jessie (voiced by Joan Cusack): She has to deal with high-tech gadgets taking over in "Toy Story 5." Good news: Taylor Swift wrote a song for her.

in an Instagram post, Swift reveals that "writing this song felt like a musical departure and coming home at the same time. Creating something for Jessie was a new challenge and also felt like second nature all at once." The pop superstar also admitted to being a "Toy Story" kid since age 5, and it's "an adventure I plan to be on, to infinity and beyond."

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A music video for "I Knew It" streaming on Spotify and Apple Music shows major Jessie moments from previous "Toy Story" movies alongside fellow main characters like Woody (Tom Hanks) and Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), plus footage from the new film where a young girl plays with Jessie while spinning in a tire swing. On X, Swift shared that she "fell instantly in love with 'Toy Story 5' when I was lucky enough to see it in its early stages," then wrote the song "as soon as I got home from the screening. Sometimes you just know, right?"

Jessie plays a significant role in "Toy Story," which catches up with her, Woody, Buzz and others having to deal with their young owner Bonnie becoming more interested in a high-tech tablet than them.

Weeks before "Toy Story 5" hits cinema screens, the song – which Swift penned with longtime collaborator Jack Antonoff – is already resonating for fans.

In its first day of release, "I Knew It, I Knew You" became the most-streamed country song in a single day by a female artist in Spotify history. Apple Music announced the ballad was the biggest country single of 2026, breaking the platform's all-time record for largest first-day performance by a soundtrack single. And Amazon Music said the tune delivered the biggest first 24-hour global streaming debut for any song released this year.

Contributing: Bryan West

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Taylor Swift's 'Toy Story 5' song has a fan in Joan Cusack

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”