When you’re jamming along to Meghan Trainor’s new hit single, “I Love Me,” you can probably relate to the lyrics. Trainor might be new to the pop scene, but she has already earned plenty of female fans. Besides her catchy tunes that make you want to shake “that base,” Trainor sings about real life from body image to dating. However, this talented singer didn’t originally dream of becoming a celebrity.
Some kids played sports or joined their middle school drama club for fun. Meghan Trainor wrote songs. At 11 years old, she wrote her first song for her aunt and uncle’s wedding, according to Rolling Stone. At 13, she wrote another song about her crush on her brother’s best friend. These two songs foreshadow Trainor’s musical focus: her life and her experiences as a woman.
Just when you feel like no one understands feeling too curvy, like you have too high of standards for men or that no one’s ex has ever been a bigger liar than yours, you hear songs like “All About That Base,” “Dear Future Husband” and “Lips and Moving.” Suddenly, Meghan Trainor isn’t just a famous singer on the radio; she’s a girl who gets it.
When did you first learn of the sassy, classy singer? Probably when you heard Trainor’s first big hit, “All About That Bass.” She wrote the song in 40 minutes with the help of her producer, Kevin Kadish,. After approaching several labels to find someone to sing it and receiving positive responses, the duo still couldn’t find the right singer. So, Trainor took the microphone…and eventually took on a record label.
“All About That Bass” promotes a message of self-love that every girl needs to hear more often. We are constantly exposed to celebrities who appear flawless and many of us strive to achieve that same perfection. Trainor sings. “Every inch of you is perfect from the bottom to the top” – and every inch of different bodies definitely are! Trainor also sings about the amount of Photoshop we see on a daily basis. No one is that perfect and we have to realize that the perfection we see isn’t real.
What is real? Trainor’s lyrics about dating. Trainor’s hit, “No,” describes a Friday night you’ve probably experienced: going out the girls and spending all night turning down lame pick-up lines. Often, men interpret a woman who is out in the town and dressed up as someone who’s “looking.” Trainor’s response is her lyrics: “If I want a man, then I’ma get a man, but it’s never my priority.” If you’re ever feeling frustrated about being a woman or the dating scene, blast this song on your stereo. (As a bonus, it might scare off those annoying suitors too.)
Whether intentional or not, Meghan Trainor’s song reflect reoccurring, feminist themes. She doesn’t just sing about missing the guy, regretting the guy or wanting the guy back; Trainor sings about being happy without him. She doesn’t just write music that you can shake your booty to; she writes music that your brain can dances to at the same time. Compare her to other popular singers – like Taylor Swift – and you’ll notice obvious differences. They both may sing about heartbreak and failed relationships, but Trainor seems to focus on the present and future – like her checklist for a husband or turning down guys hitting on her at a bar – while Swift loves to reflect on past romance.
Trainor makes you feel better about yourself and demand what you deserve. Moreover, as a woman, she is helping reshape feminine expectations and priorities. We commonly judge ourselves too harshly and chase unrealistic societal standards of beauty, behavior and everything in between. With Trainor, even if we start by just singining, we’re learning the power of saying, “No!”
