How TikTok gave pop star Meghan Trainor her second wind
US singer and new Australian Idol judge Meghan Trainor was “questioning everything” when she jumped onto TikTok with her new song. It was a move that gave her the comeback of the decade.
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Meghan Trainor has TikTok to thank for her latest resurgence.
And the American pop music superstar is not taking any of her successes for granted.
“It is unreal, it feels like it is my birthday and everyone showed up,” Trainor told Insider.
“Like, my party, nobody bailed on me and it is the best feeling in the world. On top of it, I have all of my family dreams I ever wanted. I am just living the dream in all categories, career, life, family.
“I pinch myself every morning and my mum sends me stuff like it is my first day on the job. We still geek out and pinch ourselves every day.”
Trainor’s hit single, Made You Look, has gone viral on TikTok, picked up by millions of people around the world taking on the signature dance to the track.
Other stars active on social media have also got in on the action. The likes of Kevin Bacon, JoJo Siwa, and Penn Badgley are just some of the big name celebs who have had a crack at the dance on TikTok.
“I always joke that I am a TikTok star now and I am an influencer and TikTok has saved my career. It is true to a level in that I found a home to be myself,” she said.
“It is a whole new world but it is the only place that I can really be myself and that I am loved for being myself. They’ve truly cheered me on the more I am vulnerable and authentic and real, like even when I talk about my Miralax (laxative) and anal fissures.
“They accept me for all of my scars. That is where I feel the most comfortable and that is where I wanted to share my music.
“It is just easier to be yourself than put on a whole act all day. I never take anything for granted, I am still shocked if I go into a grocery store and hear a song of mine to this day.”
Trainor, 28, exploded on to the international charts with her catchy debut hit, All About That Bass, in 2014 and subsequently won a Grammy Award for Best New Artist.
Takin’ It Back, her fifth studio album, was released last month and features the smash global single, Made You Look. Other singles are Don’t I Make It Look Easy and Bad For Me featuring Teddy Swims.
Some have claimed the album represents a comeback since her last few releases did not reach the peak of her debut and follow up, Thank You.
“For a while, my first album, everything felt like it was thrown on me like here is a number one, here is another success, here is all of these hits, easy, easy,” she explained.
“I was like, ‘this is a piece of cake’. And then it was like I was fighting my way to stay afloat for so many years. And finally it has just been a more effortless approach this time around.
“During the writing session, I was like, ‘I am going to stop fighting so hard and chasing radio and trying to do what I think they want. I am going to do what I am good at, which is the doo wop stuff and just telling my truth and talking about my experiences, like being a mother and going through it and having mum guilt and also being a bad arse queen and being a hard working boss and patting myself on the back.”
In the down times, she said, Trainor felt “sad” as she was “deep in it”.
“I was questioning everything,” she aid.
“Like, when I got a Grammy, I thought all of the doors would open. It felt like every door shut. It felt like everything was twice as hard, if not way harder. It felt like I was on a slope going down, down down. TikTok dragged me out of that dark place and this music, now everyone is saying a comeback.”
Nothing is off limits when you speak to Trainor. She speaks without fear or favour.
It is refreshing. She is also not afraid to speak up on issues that matter to her.
She famously said she would not vote for former US President Donald Trump and has been vocal about queer rights and gun violence. Trainor has also publicly supported Roe v Wade.
“Life is short. I am terrified of death. I want to do good while I am here,” she said.
“Do good and good things will happen to you, I believe in that. My husband and I are just trying to be better people. You only get one life.”
Despite being a role model to many, Trainor said she has never felt pressure.
“I get that question since All About That Bass. Do you feel pressure that you are the queen of body positivity. And I am like, I wrote these songs for myself so if it helps others that is just a plus, it is an amazing gift that I realise I have, like a superpower,” he said.
“But I never feel pressure that I am the spokeswoman for that. I am just trying to help myself, just being real talking to myself in the mirror.”
Trainor spent several weeks in Australia earlier this year filming the new revamped version of Australian Idol.
She will return in the new year for the live show component of the reality singing show and will be bringing actor husband Daryl Sabara and their son, Riley.
“February and March I am back in Australia and then I plan to release a book immediately after and then I want four children so I have got to get going on that,” she said.
“We were trying (to fall pregnant) when we were in Australia because we wanted to be able to say we conceived you in Australia, it would have been a cool story to tell but I think the time change was so rocky on my body that I couldn’t latch on but we are going to try again now we are home and chilling.”
Meghan Trainor’s album, Takin’ It Back, is out now, as is her single, Made You Look.
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Originally published as How TikTok gave pop star Meghan Trainor her second wind
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