Taylor Swift says Randy Newman gave her his 'blessing' to enter 'Toy Story' world
Music superstar Taylor Swift is expressing her gratitude for legendary composer Randy Newman.
Swift, who treated fans to a surprise duet of "You've Got a Friend In Me" with Newman at the "Toy Story 5" Los Angeles premiere on June 9, shared why she's been a lifelong fan of the Oscar-winning songwriter and composer in an exclusive interview with ABC.
"There's country, pop, folk, rock, Randy Newman," Swift said in the interview, airing Friday with the ABC special "Toy Story 30 Years and Beyond -- A Special Edition of 20/20."'
"He has his own signature syncopations to things, and the chords that he would reach for are so different than what anybody else would think to go for," she continued. "He's got a way of just writing such intricate, yet beautifully pure, simple lyrics about how you feel that get to the heart of it. They're so complex. They're exactly how you feel, and they're so universal."
Swift has now joined Newman as a songwriter for the iconic "Toy Story" franchise.
The Grammy Award winner surprised fans on June 5 when she released "I Knew It, I Knew You," which is featured on the "Toy Story 5" soundtrack.
Swift said Newman has been "amazing and supportive and encouraging" in welcoming her into the "Toy Story" world.
"Knowing I had his blessing to enter this world was really special for me and kind of helped ease what might have been a stressful situation, if I didn't know that he was good with it," she said.
A new "20/20" special, "'Toy Story': 30 Years and Beyond" airs Friday, June 12, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and streams the next day on Disney+ and Hulu.
The four previous "Toy Story" movies are available to stream on Disney+.
"I Knew It, I Knew You" was written and produced by Swift and her frequent collaborator Jack Antonoff. Swift said Antonoff has also long been a big fan of Newman's work.
"We talk about 'Toy Story' all the time and how that really shaped our childhood," Swift said.
After seeing an advanced screening of "Toy Story 5," Swift said what resonated with her most was the journey of her longtime favorite character Jessie, a beloved free-spirited cowgirl doll who was first introduced to audiences in 1999's "Toy Story 2."
"She goes through such an amazing story arc and such character development in this story," Swift said of Jessie's story in "Toy Story 5."
She continued, "We've seen her have her heart broken, we've watched the car pull away and her be left in this cardboard box. So in this film, watching her have it turn out a little differently, there's a different arc. There's lessons she's learned even reflecting back on that moment that really made me feel like I knew exactly what I wanted to write for her."
Swift said she gets especially emotional about one particular lyric in "I Knew It, I Knew You," which reads, "I watched you drive around the bend / for what I thought would be the last time I saw my friend."
"I'm not that good at talking about that part of Jessie's story, because it just makes me so sad. So I'm really happy to give her a happy moment," she said.
"Toy Story 5" follows Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), and Jessie (Joan Cusack) as they come face to face with Lilypad, a frog-shaped tablet, who arrives with her own disruptive ideas about what is best for their kid, Bonnie.
The voice cast also includes Conan O'Brien, Scarlett Spears, Shelby Rabara, Mykal-Michelle Harris, Craig Robinson, Bonnie Hunt, Lori Alan, Jay Hernandez and John Hopkins.
"Toy Story 5" hits theaters June 19.
The Walt Disney Co. is the parent company of Pixar, ABC, ABC News, Disney+ and Hulu.
