Taylor Story
– 2 min read
Earlier this week, Taylor Swift announced she penned an original song for Toy Story 5, and now that song, “I Knew It, I Knew You”, is here.
As Lainey wrote, Taylor is pushing this as a return to country, and it is certainly the most country she has sounded in a while. It’s a catchy song, and between her promotional skills and the Swifties, I am sure it will dominate charts, pop and country, for a few weeks, if not all summer. But this song is not just about Taylor returning to country, it’s also about Taylor coming for Oscar.
Among her many accomplishments, a missing accolade is that Taylor has never been nominated for Best Original Song at the Oscars. She has written several songs for movies in the past, with a few that were at least in the conversation for Best Original Song, including “Carolina” for Where the Crawdads Sing, and “Safe & Sound” and “Eyes Open” for The Hunger Games. But she’s never been nominated. (The less said about her original song, “Beautiful Ghosts”, for Cats, the better.)
But now she’s got THE original song for Toy Story 5, and I don’t call Best Animated Feature “Pixar’s Annual Oscar” for nothing. Pixar is a powerhouse at the Oscars, and it isn’t just limited to the animated categories. Randy Newman has won two Oscars penning songs for Pixar movies: “We Belong Together” from Toy Story 3, and “If I Didn’t Have You” from Monsters Inc. Coco’s “Remember Me” is also an Oscar winner.
Specifically, though, every Toy Story film, all four of them, have received Best Original Song nominations. So it is totally reasonable to think that Taylor is automatically a top contender for a nomination come awards season. That the song is catchy, that it will undoubtedly dominate the charts, that Taylor is a master at controlling her own narrative, all of this increases her odds of at least bagging her first Oscar nomination.
Sure, it’s a long road to Oscar. But you’re not exactly starting at square one when you’re Taylor Swift backed by Pixar. It’s giants standing on the shoulders of giants. She has all summer for the earworm to take hold, then she can start the campaign in the fall. A wedding, a new single, maybe an Oscar? A nomination at least. Taylor Swift truly never lets up.
You can listen to “I Knew It, I Knew You” here.
Newer
