Meghan says thank you
I am old school. I am of the belief that the only way you can call somebody a good singer is if he or she passes the test of a stripped down ballad. You see, there are so many technological advances nowadays that can make even the tone deaf sound pleasant and musical instruments electronically enhanced can cover up a cache of flaws when layered to inanity.
So would beats that send audiences dancing or rockers that get everybody to scream. Who needs music when you have all that noise? But a ballad with a sweet melody, heartfelt message and with just a beautiful voice to carry it through can only be performed well by a true, sensitive singer. I just found out that Meghan Trainor is one.
Meghan is a young singer/songwriter who has been composing and performing since she was 15 years old. Two years ago, she and Kevin Kadish came up with a song that was presented to some artists but which was rejected by everybody. Meghan decided to record it herself. The song was All About That
Bass and it launched her to stardom in a big way. Contained in her debut album
Title, it became one of the biggest-selling songs of all time, 11 million copies and still counting and gave her the Grammy for Best New Artist of 2015.
A year later, the 22-year-old Meghan is still doing very well with a new album,
Thank You and more hits. The first singles out are No and Me Too and both are strong statements about independence and women empowerment. Fans need not worry, the fun element is present in all the tracks but Meghan, buoyed up by her success, is now using her confidence and large audience reach to speak out about issues close to her heart. One example is how she had the video for Me Too pulled out because her body was photo-shopped to look slimmer. You can be chubby and still be a star.
This is all very nice but what really caught my attention in Thank You is her singing. She has a great voice. There are two very strong ballads included with shades of Presley’s blue-eyed soul. One is the soft Hopeless Romantic where the slow and simple arrangement beautifully frames her expressive and wideranging vocals. The other one is Just A Friend To You, where the ukulele accompaniment brings a sweet naiveté to the dreaded message, am I just a friend to you?
Also included in Thank You are Watch Me Do, Better featuring Yo Gotti, I
Love Me with Lunchmoney Lewis, Kindly Calm Me Down, Woman Up, I Won’t Let You Down, Dance Like Yo Daddy, Champagne Problems, Mom feat. Kelli Trainor, Friends and Thank You feat. R. City. And now the big-selling releases of the week. There is still a lot of Drake in it but the rapper from Canada has ceded the No. 1 rungs to others.
The Top 20 albums in Billboard’s Top 200 Albums list are the following: Major Key by DJ Khaled; Views by Drake; Blurryface by Twenty One Pilots; American Love by Jake Owen; ANTI by Rihanna; The Definition Of… by Fantasia; Love Remains by Hillary Scott & The Scott Family; 25 by Adele; If I’m Honest by Blake Shelton; Hamilton: An American Musical by the Original Broadway Cast. Everybody Looking by Gucci Mane; Thank You by Meghan; Lemonade by Beyoncé; This Is Acting by Sia; Traveller by Chris Stapleton; 7/27 by Fifth Harmony; Dangerous Woman by Ariana Grande; Trapsoul by Bryson Tiller; Islah by Kevin Gates; and Hypercaffium Spazzinate by Descendents. The Top 20 songs in the Top 100 chart are: Cheap Thrills by Sia feat. Sean Paul; One Dance by Drake feat. WizKid & Kyla; This Is What You Came For by Calvin Harris feat. Rihanna; Can’t Stop The Feeling! by Justin Timberlake; Cold Water by Major Lazer feat. Justin Bieber & Mo; Don’t Let Me Down by The Chainsmokers feat. Daya; Ride by Twenty One Pilots; Needed Me by Rihanna; Closer by The Chainsmokers feat. Halsey; Send My Love To Your New Lover by Adele. Heathens by Twenty One Pilots; Panda by Desiigner; For Free by DJ Khaled feat. Drake; Me Too by Meghan Trainor; Don’t Mind by Kent Jones; Work From Home by Fifth Harmony feat. Ty Dolla $ign; Just Like Fire by Pink; Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes; We Don’t Talk Anymore by Charlie Puth feat. Selena Gomez; and Too Good by Drake feat. Rihanna.