Taylor Swift had not given a proper stage performance since the Eras Tour closed in December 2024. She ended that drought Tuesday night at a movie premiere, sitting at a piano in a butter-yellow gown.
After the “Toy Story 5” world premiere wrapped for a crowd of 3,000-plus at the Dolby Theatre, a screen lifted to reveal Swift, who live-debuted “I Knew It, I Knew You,” her new song from the film’s soundtrack, per Billboard.
The room knew before she said a word. When Swift walked into the lower level of the Dolby, the in-house DJ swapped the soundtrack to “The Fate of Ophelia,” the lead single off her 2025 album “The Life of a Showgirl.”
Swift wrote and produced “I Knew It, I Knew You” with Jack Antonoff. It dropped June 5 and soundtracks the movie’s end credits. “It’s a masterpiece,” she told the room of the film.
Then a second screen lifted. Randy Newman appeared at a piano playing “You’ve Got a Friend in Me,” and Swift took the second verse. When she sang the line “Some other folks might be a little bit smarter than I am,” Newman cut in, “No one’s smarter than you!”
“This feels like a really good day, just personally,” Swift said between songs.
