BOSTON (AP) - Taylor Swift is giving $10,000 and concert tickets to a Boston school for the deaf after a prank during an online contest promising an on-campus performance by the Grammy-winning singer.
Horace Mann School for the Deaf was disqualified from the contest because many of the votes were from pranksters who thought it would be funny for a school for the deaf to win a concert.
Swift, known for hits including “You Belong With Me” and “Love Story,” said every student at the K-12 school will receive a ticket to her next local concert. She and the contest sponsors also donated $50,000 to the school, and VH1’s Save the Music program donated $10,000 in musical instruments.
“Any kind of specific instrument that can be purchased to bring music alive for these students will go a long way,” Boston Public School spokesman Matt Wilder said.
Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, Calif., won the on-campus concert and a $10,000 grant to its music department.
Four other schools also received grants: Seton High School in Cincinnati; Terra Environmental Research Institute in Miami; Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose, Calif.; and California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif.
Swift is releasing her fourth studio album, “Red,” on Oct. 22.
Her last album, “Speak Now,” sold more than 1 million copies in its first week out. She has sold more than 22 million albums and 50 million singles throughout her career.
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