Back Where It All Began: 13 Years Later, Taylor Swift Is No. 1 on Country Radio Again

Taylor Swift is back at No. 1. For the first time in 13 years, the country darling turned pop star returned to the top spot on her former genre’s chart.

Swift’s “I Knew It, I Knew You,” which appeared on the Toy Story 5 soundtrack, hit No. 1 on the U.S. country radio chart. It’s Swift’s 13th chart-topping song at U.S. country radio as a solo artist, and her 14th overall.

It’s likely a meaningful milestone for Swift, who recently spoke about her country roots.

“The further along this path I get, I want to honor them more and more,” Swift said during a conversation with Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. “I feel more and more tied and more loyal to them, the people that shaped who I am as an artist and as a writer.”

The song hasn’t only found success on country radio. The track previously hit the top spot on the all genre Billboard Hot 100.

What to Know About Taylor Swift’s “I Knew It, I Knew You”

Swift and Jack Antonoff teamed up to write the track. During a recent appearance on iHeartCountry House Party, Swift said that cowgirl character Jessie inspired much of the song.

“I was seeing that she was going through a full-circle moment as a character,” Swift said, per Billboard. She added that she was likewise inspired after experiencing “a lot of reunions of old friends, seeing people that you haven’t seen in a while, and kind of forgiving past heartbreak, or whatever, and kind of healing that within yourself.”

The final lyrics of the song have been “delved into by the fans,” a fact Swift said she “loves.”

“There are several lyrics that have more than one meaning to them,” Swift said. “You only have so long in a song to convey and surmise and sum up this entire film that people just watched. Sometimes you’ll try to have a double meaning in a line.”

Swift was honored to add the track to the musical legacy of Toy Story, which was largely developed by Randy Newman.

The composer gave Swift’s song his stamp of approval. She noted, “He told me he likes it, which is really all I need to know.”

Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for for TAS Rights Management

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