Entertainment Music Taylor Swift's Most Iconic New York City Moments From her various appearances to her song lyrics, it's clear that N.Y.C. holds a special significance for Taylor Swift. Take a look back at some of her most iconic moments in the Big Apple By Kelsie Gibson Kelsie Gibson Twitter Kelsie Gibson is the SEO Editor of PEOPLE Digital. Since joining the brand in 2021, she has contributed to a number of different verticals, writing and editing SEO content ranging from relationship timelines to TV and movie explainers. Prior to joining PEOPLE, Kelsie worked at POPSUGAR as the Celebrity and Entertainment editor, where she wrote and edited content and conducted various interviews for online and video at press junkets, red carpets, and events such as Tribeca Film Festival. She was also formerly at Bustle, Tiger Beat, and Her Campus and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. People Editorial Guidelines Updated on June 13, 2022 11:13 AM Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/LP5/Getty 01 of 23 When Taylor Swift Performed at the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony George Napolitano/FilmMagic One of Taylor Swift's first big events in the city was when she performed at the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony in 2007. For the event, she bundled up in a long white coat paired with her signature curls and bedazzled guitar. 02 of 23 When Taylor Swift Appeared on TRL At the start of her career, Swift made several appearances on MTV's Total Request Live. In this throwback photo, she can be seen flashing the camera a peace sign as she posed in front of the iconic MTV Studios logo. 03 of 23 When Taylor Swift Performed on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest Roger Kisby/Getty In 2008, Swift performed on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest for the very first time as she rang in 2009 alongside fellow popstars Demi Lovato, Kevin Jonas, Nick Jonas, and Joe Jonas. Fun fact: she and Joe Jonas had just broken up a few months prior to the event, and for her performance, she sang her Fearless hit "Forever & Always" which was inspired by the couple's dramatic split. 04 of 23 When Taylor Swift Performed at Madison Square Garden Jason Kempin/Getty During her Fearless Tour in 2009, Swift performed at Madison Square Garden for the very first time in front of an excited group of Swifties. 05 of 23 When Taylor Swift Accepted Her MTV VMA Kevin Mazur/WireImage In 2009, Swift attended the MTV VMAs at Radio City Music Hall, where she won the "Best Female Video" award — an event that is better remembered for Kanye West storming the stage during her speech to declare that Beyonce should have won, as she had "one of the best videos of all time." At the end of the night, after a win of her own, Beyoncé shared a heartfelt moment with Swift, bringing the singer back onstage to finish her acceptance speech. 06 of 23 When Taylor Swift Hosted Saturday Night Live Dana Edelson/NBCU Though Swift has performed on Saturday Night Live a number of times, her first and only hosting gig was in November 2009, following the release of her Fearless album. For her monologue, she opted to sing a song entitled "Monologue Song (La La La)," where she made references to ex Joe Jonas, then-boyfriend Taylor Lautner, and Kanye West. 07 of 23 When Taylor Swift Got a Wax Figure at Madame Tussauds Neilson Barnard/Getty In 2010, Swift was on hand as Madame Tussauds unveiled her wax figure at the N.Y.C. location. For the special occasion, Swift wore the exact same outfit as her wax figure as she posed for photos. 08 of 23 When Taylor Swift Performed With Selena Gomez and James Taylor at Madison Square Garden Larry Busacca/Getty As Swift performed at Madison Square Garden for her Speak Now World Tour in 2011, she was joined by not one, but two special musical guests. She and bestie Selena Gomez performed a rendition of "Who Says" and legendary musician James Taylor (aftter whom she's named) joined her to perform his hit "Fire and Rain." 09 of 23 When Taylor Swift Performed With Ed Sheeran at Jingle Ball Theo Wargo/Getty Following the release of her Red album in October 2012, Swift shared the stage with Ed Sheeran for one of the first times as they performed their duet "Everything Has Changed" at the Jingle Ball. 10 of 23 When Taylor Swift Announced 1989 Album on Top of the Empire State Building Dimitrios Kambouris/LP5/Getty In 2014, Swift hosted a live stream at the Empire State Building where she announced her fifth studio album, 1989. The choice of location was fitting, seeing as the first track on the album is "Welcome to New York." 11 of 23 When Taylor Swift Turned Her Apartment Steps Into a Runway Alo Ceballos/GC Images During her 1989 era, Swift lived in N.Y.C., where she made several fashionable appearances around the Big Apple. Most notably, she turned the steps of her Tribeca apartment into her own runway as she showed off her street style for photographers waiting outside. 12 of 23 When Taylor Swift Enjoyed a New York Knicks Game James Devaney/GC Images In 2014, Swift attended a New York Knicks game at Madison Square Garden alongside Karlie Kloss, where she was seen excitedly cheering on the home team with a cold beverage in hand. 13 of 23 When Taylor Swift Appeared on the Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special Dana Edelson/NBCU In 2015, Swift made a special appearance on the Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special during "The Californians" skit. She was joined by SNL alums Vanessa Bayer, Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, Keenan Thompson, and Fred Armisen as well as special guests Kerry Washington, Betty White, and Bradley Cooper. 14 of 23 When Taylor Swift Attended the Met Gala Mike Coppola/Getty Swift made her Met Gala debut in 2008 and has attended five times since; her most recent Met Gala appearance, in 2016, was notable for several reasons: She was a co-chair of the event, she sported bleach blonde hair with her Louis Vuitton minidress, and the event is rumored to be where she first met boyfriend Joe Alwyn. 15 of 23 When Taylor Swift Attended the Time 100 Gala Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty In April 2019, before the release of her Lover album, Swift attended the Time 100 Gala as an honoree. In addition to wowing in a flowing yellow and pink J. Mendel dress, she gave a special performance during the ceremony held at Lincoln Center. 16 of 23 When Taylor Swift Performed at Stonewall Inn's Pride Celebration Craig Barritt/Getty During Pride Month in 2019, Swift made a surprise appearance at AEG and Stonewall Inn's pride celebration commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising. 17 of 23 When Taylor Swift Performed on Good Morning America Kevin Mazur/Getty Just before the release of her Lover album, Swift did a special concert in Central Park for Good Morning America. In addition to performing various songs from her album, she also had a sit-down with Robin Roberts, where she confirmed that she would be re-recording her first six albums in an attempt to gain control of her masters. 18 of 23 When Taylor Swift Rang in Her 30th Birthday at Madison Square Garden ANGELA WEISS/getty The 2019 Jingle Ball was a special moment for Swift. In addition to performing an array of hits at Madison Square Garden, the event also fell on her 30th birthday. Following her performance, Swift was honored with a special cake featuring her three cats as the crowd sang her "Happy Birthday." 19 of 23 When Taylor Swift Attended the N.Y.C. Premiere of Cats Taylor Hill/FilmMagic In December 2019, Swift attended the world premiere of the Cats movie, where she played Bombalurina alongside Idris Elba, Rebel Wilson, and more. She also wrote the song "Beautiful Ghosts" with Andrew Lloyd Webber for the film. 20 of 23 When Taylor Swift Performed 'All Too Well' on Saturday Night Live Following the release of Red (Taylor's Version) in November 2021, Swift appeared on SNL as the musical guest, where she gave the first televised performance of 10-minute version of "All Too Well." 21 of 23 When Taylor Swift Attended the Premiere of All Too Well: The Short Film Dylan O'Brien, Taylor Swift, Sadie Sink. Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty In addition to releasing the 10-minute version of "All Too Well" on Red (Taylor's Version), Swift also released a short film for the song, which starred Swifties Dylan O'Brien and Sadie Sink. Before premiering the short film on YouTube, Swift held a special screening at AMC Lincoln Square. 22 of 23 When Taylor Swift Received an Honorary Doctorate Degree From New York University In May 2022, Swift celebrated the class of '22 by giving the commencement speech at New York University. In addition to giving a heartwarming speech on stage at Yankee Stadium, she also received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts. 23 of 23 When Taylor Swift Appeared at Tribeca Film Festival Jane Rosenthal, Tyalor Swift, Sadie Sink, Paula Weinstein, Dylan O'Brien, and Mike Mills. Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty for Tribeca Festival During the 2022 Tribeca Festival, Swift held a screening of All Too Well: The Short Film at the Beacon Theater in New York City. In addition to showing her short film, the singer also did a Q&A where she talked about gaining more experience as a director.