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* ''I'll Sing with You'' (2011)
* ''I'll Sing with You'' (2011)
* ''[[Only 17]]'' (2011)
* ''[[Only 17]]'' (2011)
* ''[[Title (EP)]]'' (2014)
* ''[[Title (Meghan Trainor album)|Title]]'' (2015)
* ''[[Title (Meghan Trainor album)|Title]]'' (2015)


Revision as of 10:07, 6 May 2015

Meghan Trainor
Trainor performing in December 2014
Trainor performing in December 2014
Background information
Birth nameMeghan Elizabeth Trainor
Born (1993-12-22) December 22, 1993 (age 30)
Nantucket, Massachusetts
Genres
OccupationSinger-songwriter
Years active2008–present
LabelsEpic
Websitemeghan-trainor.com

Meghan Elizabeth Trainor (born December 22, 1993)[1] is an American singer-songwriter. She released three independent albums before signing with Epic Records and achieving her breakthrough in 2014 with the single "All About That Bass". The song reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Trainor's second single, "Lips Are Movin", peaked at number four. Her EP, Title, debuted at number 15 on the Billboard 200 in September 2014, and her full-length 2015 album, also named Title, debuted at number one.

Trainor's music is predominantly bubblegum pop, blue-eyed soul and doo-wop. Her work has been recognized with several awards and nominations, including nominations for Record of the Year and Song of the Year for "All About That Bass" at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards.

Life and career

1993–2008: Early life

Trainor was born on December 22, 1993 to parents Gary and Kelli Trainor. She was raised in Nantucket, Massachusetts.[2][3][4] Her father taught music for eight years and plays organ in a Methodist church.[5][6] She has two brothers.[5] When she was eleven, Trainor told her father that she wanted to become a recording artist.[5][7] Her first live performance was in 2004 at the wedding of her aunt and uncle,[8] where she played the song "Heart and Soul" on the piano.[9] Trainor began performing in "an all-purpose party band" with members of her family when she was twelve.[6] They performed soca-inspired music at Nantucket bars.[6]

By age 13, Trainor penned her first song, "Give Me a Chance".[9] Trainor's father helped her learn guitar and encouraged her to explore various musical genres.[5] Her mother has said Trainor "did a lot by ear".[5] When Trainor was in eighth grade, the family left Nantucket, temporarily relocating to Orleans, Massachusetts, and then settling in North Eastham, Massachusetts. There, Trainor attended Nauset Regional High School. Playing alongside NRBQ members Johnny and Joey Spampinato, Trainor developed her musical skills and took guitar lessons from Spampinato.[5][6] She was a member of a jazz band for three years during high school and worked independently in her home studio.[5]

2009–13: Career beginnings

When she was fifteen, Trainor enrolled in the 2009 Summer Performance Program at Berklee College of Music, where she reached the finals of the program's songwriting competition.[10][5][11] That year, Trainor produced her self-titled first album, which was released on December 25,[12] using GarageBand,[5][13] Her father stated that Trainor "thought she was one of the chubby girls who would never be an artist" and for this reason she gravitated to song publishing.[6] Trainor's self-titled album was followed by two acoustic albums in 2011, I'll Sing with You and Only 17. All three albums were self-released.[11] Trainor collaborated with her father on three jazz-influenced songs on Only 17. Throughout 2010 and 2011, Trainor participated in songwriting contests across the United States.[14] Only 17 was handed to NRBQ member Al Anderson at a songwriters expo in Durango.[5] Anderson referred the album to Carla Wallace of Big Yellow Dog Music, who offered Trainor a contract.[4] Trainor's parents encouraged her to forego college for the publishing deal.[15] Trainor eventually dropped out at Berklee due to creative differences with students and professors at the college.[5]

Following her deal with Big Yellow Dog, Trainor struggled as a songwriter, because no one in Los Angeles was interested in collaborating with her.[16] Trainor became frustrated with commuting to Los Angeles for songwriting sessions. Trainor's parents did not want her to relocate, describing a move there as "terrifying" and expensive.[5] She decided to relocate to the more affordable Nashville, Tennessee, in November 2013.[5] In 2014, she earned her first songwriting royalties by penning for recording artists from Italy and Denmark,[8][17] later writing songs for Sabrina Carpenter,[4] Rascal Flatts,[5] Hunter Hayes, and R5.[18][19] Trainor also sang lead and backing vocals for the demos of some artists.[8] In April 2013,[20] Trainor met songwriter and producer Kevin Kadish through a mutual friend in Nashville.[5]

2014–present: Breakthrough with Title

Meghan Trainor performing on stage with blue stage lighting shining upon her
Trainor performing in Philadelphia during the Jingle Ball Tour 2014

Kadish and Trainor co-wrote "All About That Bass" in 2014.[9] After various record labels and recording artists, including Beyoncé and Adele, declined to record the song,[4] Trainor recorded the song herself, and performed it on the ukulele for Epic Records chairman L.A. Reid.[21] Trainor hired Troy Carter as her manager.[15] "All About That Bass" was released on June 30, 2014,[22] and its music video became a viral hit.[23] "All About That Bass" reached number one in 58 countries and became one of the best-selling singles of all time, with worldwide sales in excess of six million copies as of December 2014.[24][25]

"All About That Bass" preceded Trainor's debut extended play (EP), Title, released on September 9, 2014.[26] It was composed entirely by Trainor and Kadish,[27] and peaked at number 15 on the Billboard 200 and number 17 on the Canadian Albums Chart.[28][29] Trainor released her second single, "Lips Are Movin", on October 21, 2014.[30] The song's music video was commissioned by Hewlett-Packard, who included Trainor as part of a promotional campaign for their HP Pavilion product.[31] The single peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100.[32] "Lips Are Movin" marked her second top 10 hit in Australia and Canada,[33][34] and third in New Zealand.[35] In November 2014, she appeared as a guest mentor on the seventh season of American series The Voice.[36] Trainor was listed as the fourth most Trending Music Artist in Google's Year in Search for 2014.[37] Billboard ranked her as the fourth best new artist of the year,[38] and placed her 12th on their on 21 Under 21 2014 list.[39]

Sony Music Entertainment requested that Trainor's current publisher, Big Yellow Dog Music, pull Trainor's three self-released albums from circulation in the build-up to her major label debut, Title.[5] As a result, Title is recognized as Trainor's debut studio album.[40][41] It acts as a full-length replacement of her EP of the same name,[42] and was released on January 9, 2015.[43] Trainor's first headlining concert tour, That Bass Tour, began on February 11, 2015, with Australian band Sheppard as the opening act.[44] The album will further be promoted through the MTrain Tour, with Charlie Puth and Life of Dillon as opening acts. It will begin on July 3, 2015.[45]

Artistry

Influences

Bruno Mars kneeling down
Sinatra behind a microphone
Bruno Mars (left) and Frank Sinatra (right) significantly influence Trainor and her music

Growing up, Trainor was introduced to 1950s music, doo-wop, jazz, and the works of James Brown by her father.[5][46] Trainor credits 1950s music, soca, and Frank Sinatra for influencing her hip hop, pop musical blend.[47] As a songwriter, she is influenced by Sinatra. "No one writes like [Sinatra] anymore, because it's hard", she said.[48] She is inspired by Stevie Wonder and Phil Collins, and has named the 1999 Tarzan soundtrack—on which Collins features—as her favorite album during her youth.[48] Other artists that have influenced Trainor include Ariana Grande,[49] Christina Aguilera,[50] Earth Wind & Fire,[47] Jason Mraz,[49] *NSYNC,[50] Ray Charles,[47] and T-Pain.[4] Trainor cites Beyoncé as her dancing inspiration, and called her "the one performer [she] studies a lot".[13]

Musical style and themes

Trainor is identified as a singer-songwriter.[7][51][52] Her sound is predominantly bubblegum pop, blue-eyed soul, doo-wop, and pop.[53] Trainor's debut EP Title comprises throwback style sound,[54] and 1950s doo wop-inspired songs that straddle the line between modern R&B and melodic pop.[55] Her work has been compared to that of American singer-songwriters Jenny Lewis and Neko Case,[56] and to 1960s singers such as Doris Day, Betty Everett, Rosemary Clooney, and Eydie Gormé.[57] Trainor plays a variety of musical instruments: bass,[6] guitar, ukulele, keyboard, trumpet, percussion,[5] and piano.[48] She feels that a song's melody is more important than its lyrics.[5] She composes in a variety of genres, including country, hip hop, reggae and soca,[6] but prefers doo-wop and reggae.[13]

Trainor's vocals have been described as "soulful" and "highly resonant,"[55] and "a reedy cross" between Katy Perry and Taylor Swift.[58] Chris DeVille of Stereogum opined that she is "a very capable singer," and wrote that Trainor "project[s] lots of character and emotion within a relatively limited range".[59] When singing, Trainor uses a Southern American English patois.[60] The harmonies in her music have been likened to those of 1960s girl groups.[31] Trainor's lyrics are recognized to contemplate 21st-century womanhood.[54] She has said that she aims to "break the chains" of the "absurd standards of thinness" promoted by the beauty industry with her lyrics.[61] However, her lyrics have been dismissed by some critics as being anti-feminist.[62]

Public image

In 2014, Rolling Stone deemed Trainor the year's "Most Unlikely Pop Star".[9] While promoting her first album, she was noted for serving as an inspiration to youth who struggle with body image and bullying.[23][15] The Guardian called her "the poster girl for the larger woman" and "pop's emblem for self-acceptance", while Fashion Times wrote that Trainor "inspired many women to embrace their curves".[63][64] Trainor's fanbase is collectively identified as Megatrons.[65]

Awards and nominations

Year Ceremony Award Nominated work Result Ref.
2014 American Music Awards New Artist of the Year Meghan Trainor Nominated [66]
MTV Europe Music Awards Best Song with a Social Message "All About That Bass" [67]
NewNowNext Awards Best New Musician (Female) Meghan Trainor [68]
Capricho Awards Revelation International
2015 People's Choice Awards Favorite Breakout Artist [69]
Favorite Song "All About That Bass"
Grammy Awards Record of the Year [40]
Song of the Year
Kids' Choice Awards Favorite Song of the Year [70]
Favorite New Artist Meghan Trainor
iHeartRadio Music Awards Best New Artist [71]
Renegade
Song of the Year "All About That Bass"
YouTube Music Awards 50 greatest artists and YouTube performances Meghan Trainor Won [72]
Radio Disney Music Awards Best Female Artist Nominated [73]
Best Song to Dance To "All About That Bass"
Song of the Year
Billboard Music Awards Top New Artist Meghan Trainor Pending [74]
Top Female Artist
Top Billboard 100 Artist
Achievement Award
Top Digital Songs Artist
Top Streaming Artist
Top Hot 100 Song "All About That Bass"
Top Digital Song
Top Streaming Video
ASCAP Pop Music Awards Most Performed Songs Won [75]

Discography

Main article: Meghan Trainor discography

Tours

References

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  2. ^ "Meghan Trainor Artist Biography by Mark Deming". All Music. Retrieved April 22, 2015.
  3. ^ Mark Deming. "Meghan Trainor Biography". Billboard Magazine. Retrieved April 22, 2015.
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  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Sullivan, Jim (August 30, 2014). "Meghan Trainor hits big time with 'All About That Bass'". Cape Cod Times. Local Media Group. Retrieved December 25, 2014.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Sullivan, James (September 16, 2014). "All About Nantucket's Meghan Trainor". The Boston Globe. Retrieved December 25, 2014.
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  8. ^ a b c Laskey, Jen. "The Voice". N Magazine. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
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