Randy Newman has revealed the delightfully low-key way his surprise duet with Taylor Swift at the Toy Story 5 world premiere came together, and his reaction when he was first asked about it was perfectly on brand.
Swift had just delivered the world premiere performance of I Knew It, I Knew You, her original song written for the film’s end credits, when the screen lifted to reveal her at a piano.
After she finished, she introduced Newman, and the two performed the iconic You’ve Got a Friend in Me together, a moment nobody in the room saw coming.
Speaking to Variety, Newman explained that the whole thing came about with minimal fuss and even less preparation.
“They asked if I would mind if Taylor Swift did this thing, and I said, ‘No one’s ever going to say no to her,'” he recalled.
The pair had roughly an hour to an hour and a half to rehearse, though Newman wasn’t particularly worried about Swift knowing the words.
“She knew the song. There wasn’t anything to do,” he said, noting her well-documented status as a lifelong Toy Story fan.
His only concern was a musical one, he worried that the E-flat major key might be too high for her, and offered to transpose it.
“I said, ‘Do you want to do it in another key?’ But she said no.”
Newman also admitted that he had briefly wondered whether he would be asked back for the fifth instalment at all.
“I thought maybe Tommy would get the job, but I’m glad I got it, and could round things up,” he said, referring to his cousin and fellow composer Thomas Newman.
Director Andrew Stanton, who declared himself “Team Randy” before the first film even had a composer attached, was emphatic that bringing Newman back was never really in question.
“He’s got this right level of romanticism and cynicism,” Stanton told Variety.
