Taylor Swift’s awkward duet with Randy Newman draws criticism

Taylor Swift contributed a new song to the soundtrack of "Toy Story 5," and at the premiere performed the beloved theme song, "You've Got a Friend in Me," with Randy Newman. Her singing, for some reason, sounded flat and lacking in character, and listeners noticed.

A week ago, Swift revealed that she is taking part in the soundtrack of "Toy Story 5" with a new original song, "I Knew It, I Knew You." At the film’s premiere, she appeared alongside musician Randy Newman, who is responsible for its iconic theme song, but disappointed many.

Newman and Swift sang together the classic from the first film, "You've Got a Friend in Me." But compared with Newman’s distinctive, characterful voice, Swift’s voice that evening sounded flat and lacking in character or enthusiasm. Many viewers of the performance did not connect with it, and felt that Swift had ruined Newman’s classic song.

"It’s amazing how she manages to make every song sound so pale and lifeless," one user wrote on X. "It feels like drunken karaoke at two in the morning," another wrote. One more user added, "If I were an artist, I’d be so angry that she covered my song. Her singing is terrible." The original post author replied, "Her singing is so flat and without any emotion." Some of Swift’s fans came to her defense, as usual.

During the event, Swift also performed live for the first time the original song she wrote for the film, "I Knew It, I Knew You," which is already breaking streaming records. Disney describes the song as "a return to Taylor Swift’s country roots," and it was written in inspiration from Jessie’s character in the film, in collaboration with her regular producer Jack Antonoff. On stage, Swift praised Joan Cusack, who voices Jessie, and said, "I had the honor of writing for her."

This is Swift’s first live performance since the Eras Tour, Swift’s massive tour that took her to 149 shows in 21 different countries and earned her about $2 billion.