Welcome to New York

“Welcome to New York” was written by Taylor and Ryan Tedder, even before Taylor had moved to New York. Its title is a literal way for Taylor to welcome fans to her new sound. Paralleling her own move from Nashville to New York, “1989” as an album reflects her new lifestyle — moving from her country roots to the big city with all its glitz and glamour. Regarding the song’s role as the album opener, Taylor said:

“I wanted to start ‘1989’ with this song because New York has been an important landscape and location for the story of my life in the last couple of years. I dreamt and obsessed over moving to New York, and then I did it. The inspiration that I found in that city is hard to describe and to compare to any other force of inspiration I’ve ever experienced in my life. It’s an electric city.” — Taylor Swift

Lyrically, the song also sees Taylor supporting equality for the LGBT community for the first time:

And you can want who you want
Boys and boys and girls and girls

CRITICAL RECEPTION
“Welcome to New York” was met with mixed reviews from contemporary critics, who found the song lacking substance compared to other popular New York tribute songs. Robert Christgau, in a review published on Cuepoint, felt that most critics had been too harsh so as to not appear to be fans of Taylor. He said, “I think it’s silly to demand sociology from someone who can’t stroll Central Park without bodyguards”, and defended Taylor’s perspectives given her upper middle class background as opposed to the majority of the middle class in New York City. On a more positive note, Daniel D’Addario of TIME stated that the song was a “new kind of equality anthem”. He added that he felt that the song’s lighthearted production and the lyrics “You can want who you want / Boys and boys and girls and girls” effectively promoted sexual equality.

COMMERCIAL PERFORMANCE
“Welcome to New York” was released as a promotional single for the album on October 20, 2014. In the United States, the song peaked at No. 48 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling 1,000,000 units in the United States.

As proof of Taylor’s love for her adopted hometown, all proceeds from sales of the single went to New York City Public Schools. The city also showed love back when it made Taylor a tourism ambassador.

LIVE PERFORMANCES
Taylor performed “Welcome to New York” during the “1989 Secret Sessions“, live streamed by Yahoo! and iHeartRadio on October 27, 2014. The song was also included as the opener for “The 1989 World Tour“, which Taylor embarked on to support “1989” throughout 2015.