MEGHAN TRAINOR ON WHY SHE ‘DOESN’T FEEL FAMOUS’
Meghan Trainor has certainly come a long way since breakout single All About That Bass in 2014. She opens up to LUCY MAPSTONE about her sudden success, being her own worst critic and why she ‘doesn’t feel famous’
FOR someone who was as ubiquitous as she was at the start of her pop career, Meghan Trainor’s take on her own level of fame is unexpected. “I don’t feel famous at all,” she admits. “The only time I feel famous is when paparazzi are chasing me in New York City, or fans see me in a mall and start lining up to take a picture.”
While loud and bubbly throughout most of our chat, Meghan – who is speaking to me from her home in
Los Angeles – hesitates for a moment before she adds:
“But... I really just don’t feel famous.”
She may not be ready to accept it yet, but Meghan has been a certified celebrity since the release of her global smash hit breakthrough song All
About That Bass.
Following years of hard graft, the American singer-songwriter made a substantial mark when she dropped her infectiously catchy pop song about body positivity in 2014. It topped the charts across the world, including in the UK, and was the fourth best-selling song of that year in America, with 11 million copies sold globally.
Despite the success of her first two albums, her string of popular singles (Lips Are Moving, Dear Future Husband and No, to name a few), as well as her new starring role on The Voice UK as a coach (“I love the UK! I love the cold weather and the rain, it reminds me of where I grew up,” she raves), Meghan confesses to still being really hard on herself. However, with her third album Treat Myself, she is feeling in a much better place creatively.
The record is Meghan’s favourite collection of songs to date.
The 26-yearold explains:
“I got the most time to work on it, even down to the artwork... we’re holding the vinyl right now and it’s like, so beautiful. “All that stuff is usually rushed and last minute and I’m like ‘Ugh’. I always think, ‘Man, if I had more time, this would have been cooler’, but everything down to the artwork on this one, I’ve had all the time in the world for, and I really made it 100%.
“I write my songs in one day and that’s it, and then production I’ll take more time with, but with this album, I got three years. I just wrote hundreds of songs and I picked the best of the best. My family wrote the songs with me and they sang background, so it feels bigger than just me. “There’s no part of any of these songs where I cringe, you know?” she adds.
Intrigued to know more about what about her music makes her “cringe”, I probe her further.
“I’m my own worst critic,” she explains, “because some people might like a part that I don’t, and I’m just like, ‘Ugh, I wish I wrote it differently’.”
However, she insists that her selfcriticism is “something I’m working on” and reveals that she recently talked to TV psychologist Dr Phil about it for his podcast.
Part of her insecurity could be down to the fact that fame and success came so quickly to her back when she was just 20.
“Six years ago when All About That Bass came out, I was a child. I was terrified!” she laughs, adding she was “a completely different person” then.
“I had no idea what was going on. I’d never had my make-up done before, or my hair done. It was all new, but it was all exciting, because it was my dreams come true.”
Another dream come true for Meghan was collaborating with rap superstar Nicki Minaj for her new album on the track Nice To Meet Ya.
“It was the coolest, coolest experience ever. I didn’t think it would happen, but I heard she liked the song and then weeks later, she recorded a verse on it and I freaked out – it was perfect,” she gushes.
As for the rest of the album, she says she hopes fans “listen to it, dance to it and smile to it”.
“I hope it makes someone feel like they’re not alone and that they can be happy for a moment. And I hope it makes memories that will last for a lifetime.
“Life in general is just hard, and it’s different for everybody, but life is also amazing and I want to get that message across too.
“If you look up and look around and are grateful for what you have, it can be really beautiful, and that’s how I’m living life.”
■ Meghan Trainor’s new album Treat Myself is out now.