Welcome to New York (song)

Swift, Tedder, and Noel Zancanella produced "Welcome to New York", a track driven by pulsing synthesizers, programmed drums, and multitracked vocals.

[7] In a Rolling Stone interview, she recalled that she was "so intimidated" by the city and its "blaring honesty" that she thought she could not "make it here because [she] wasn't [...] bold enough, brave enough".

She put it first on 1989's track list because she wanted to highlight New York as a memorable event in her life and a formative aesthetic influence of the album.

[9][12] In the lyrics, a narrator expresses their newfound sense of freedom ("Everybody here was someone else before")[13] and compares living in New York to having a nice beat they could dance to.

[17] The music scholar Eric Smialek contended that the lyrics received media attention due to "popular belief" that Swift was politically inactive.

[38] It peaked at number 23 on the singles chart of Australia,[39] where it was certified double-platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for surpassing 140,000 units.

[46] NYC & Company named Swift an official tourism ambassador for New York City,[47] a move that generated media controversy;[48][49] various publications regarded the song as a "gentrification anthem" that did not represent an authentic New York and the Nashville-based Swift as an unfit candidate compared to New York-born-and-raised celebrities such as Robert De Niro and Jennifer Lopez.

[50] NYC & Co's spokesman defended Swift and said that the campaign was "a new approach" that focused on "the wonderment and excitement" of a person first arriving at the city.

[51] The urban studies scholar Alessandro Busà commented that Swift was a fitting choice for NYC & Co's promotion of a "new New York City", which he described as a "sanitized, young, rather hipsterish brand".

[53] They added that Swift's depiction and love of New York neglected the real-life socioeconomic issues that most city residents had to face.

[54][55] Jason Lipshutz of Billboard wrote: "while Swift perkily admires [the city], she doesn't remark on the subway rats or waking up in closet-sized bedrooms.

[17] Jon Caramanica from The New York Times described the track as "shimmery [...] if slightly dim",[13] and Fact's Aimee Cliff complained how the song "manages to reduce an entire city to a pristine skyline seen from a top floor window".

[57] Caramanica, Cliff, and Zoladz picked "Welcome to New York" as one of 1989's weakest tracks,[13][57][26] as did Parade's Samuel R. Murrian and Spin's Al Shipley in retrospective reviews.

[58][59] Speaking to Billboard regarding the reaction, Swift said it made her think differently but defended the song because she was focusing on how to capture a "momentary emotion".

"[55] PopMatters's Corey Baesley wrote that "Welcome to New York" was both "undeniably catchy" and "completely unlistenable", but the song was a reasonable album opener because "it's a manifesto, not an overture".

Roison O'Connor from The Independent contended that the song received an "unfair rap" from critics and complimented it as "a blast of fresh air".

[53] Spin magazine's Andrew Unterberger highlighted the track as a representation of Swift's adulthood and mature perspective,[63] and Marah Eakin of The A.V.

[78] Dan Caffrey from Consequence of Sound said Adams's "Welcome to New York" incorporates influences of power pop that resemble the music of Tom Petty.

[93] Swift, Tedder, and Zancanella produced "Welcome to New York (Taylor's Version)", which was recorded by Tedder and Rich Rich at the Mandarin Oriental in Milan, Italy; mixed by Ghenea at MixStar Studios in Virginia Beach, Virginia; and mastered by Randy Merrill at Sterling Sound in Edgewater, New Jersey.

[95][96] The Independent's Adam White said the re-recorded track "goes harder with its synths",[97] and the Financial Times' Ludovic Hunter-Tilney labelled it an "irresistibly bright tribute" to New York City.