Taylor Swift will donate all proceeds of Welcome to New York, her latest single, to New York City’s public schools. While many of the Big Apple’s residents remain sceptical of Swift’s anthem, the singer is happily throwing money at one of her favourite local institutions.
“I don’t think I’ve told anyone this before,” Swift coyly announced on The View chat show. “[Welcome to New York] is selling really, really well, which is good because I’m donating all of my proceeds to New York City public schools.” As the crowd cheered, Swift hardly cracked a smile, responding with the calm authority of a deputy mayor.
Welcome to New York debuted at No 39 on the UK singles list, but it and Swift’s new album, 1989, are already dominating the US’s digital charts. By the end of next week, 1989 is predicted to become 2014’s first platinum record. Still, the 24-year-old’s latest single has not attracted universal acclaim: “Welcome to New York is bullshit,” complained the Village Voice, while Salon called it “the worst ode to NYC ever”. Many have criticised Swift’s banal representation of a New York she barely knows: the Pennsylvania-born, Tennessee-raised star only moved there this year.
“I’m still learning, but I’m so enthusiastic about this city,” Swift told Good Morning America on Monday. “New York was a huge landscape for what became this album. It’s affected my life in ways I’m not even aware of fully.” Earlier this month, New York’s official tourism agency named Swift their “global welcome ambassador”, applauding the “synergy” between the singer and the city. As part of this initiative, Swift, who lives in a $20m, 743-sq-metre Tribeca penthouse, recorded videos explaining New York vernacular such as “bodega” and “stoop”.
In an interview published by Time magazine in March 2014, Swift declared that she would “never” consider moving away from her then home of Nashville. “When people ask me, ‘Where’s home?’ I don’t even think before I say ‘Nashville,’” she said. “I just love it here … I have to stop because I sound like I am the president of the Nashville tourism board.”
