After signing a record deal with Epic Records in 2014, Trainor rose to fame with the release of her major-label debut studio album, Title (2015). The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, went on to sell over one million copies domestically, and produced three top 10 singles: "All About That Bass", "Lips Are Movin" and "Like I'm Gonna Lose You". Her second major release Thank You was released in 2016, preceded by its lead single "No" which became a top three hit on the Billboard Hot 100.
Prominently influenced by the 1950s and 1960s eras in music, Trainor's music has been noted for its retro style aesthetic. Common themes in her lyrics include subjects of modern womanhood, body image, and empowerment. Trainor's work has been recognized with several awards and nominations, including a Grammy Award, Music Business Association's Breakthrough Artist of the Year accolade and two Billboard Music Awards.
Trainor is identified as a singer-songwriter. Her sound is predominantly what is referred to as "Neo-Retro", a "mix-mash" of R&B, pop, doo-wop and blue-eyed soul. Trainor's debut EP Title comprises throwback style sound, and 1950s doo wop-inspired songs that straddle the line between modern R&B and melodic pop. Her work is reminiscent of the famous Brill building composers, such as Goffin-King, Greenwich-Barry, etc.; comparisons also to that of American singer-songwriters Neil Sedaka, Jenny Lewis, Neko Case, and to 1960s singers such as Connie Francis, Brenda Lee, Betty Everett, Lesley Gore, and Eydie Gormé. Trainor plays a variety of musical instruments: bass, guitar, ukulele, keyboard, trumpet, percussion, and piano. She feels that a song's melody is more important than its lyrics. She composes in a variety of genres, including country, hip hop, reggae and soca, but prefers doo-wop and reggae.
Trainor's vocals have been described as "soulful" and "highly resonant", and "a reedy cross" between Katy Perry and Taylor Swift. Chris DeVille of Stereogum opined that she is "a very capable singer", and wrote that Trainor "projects lots of character and emotion within a relatively limited range". When singing, Trainor uses a Southern American English patois. The harmonies in her music have been likened to those of 1960s girl groups. Trainor's lyrics are recognized to contemplate 21st-century womanhood. She has said that she aims to "break the chains" of the "absurd standards of thinness" promoted by the beauty industry with her lyrics.
In 2014, Rolling Stone deemed Trainor the year's "Most Unlikely Pop Star". While promoting her first album, she was noted for serving as an inspiration to youth who struggle with body image and bullying.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". Online magazine Mic, however, has described Trainor as anti-feminist suggesting she seeks self-worth based on the opinions of men, but in an interview in 2016, Trainor clarified that she is a feminist after learning more about it.Trainor's fanbase is collectively identified as Megatrons. In March 2015, Trainor partnered with FullBeauty Brands to relaunch their website fullbeauty.com, and to help create clothing for women of different body types.
See also: List of awards and nominations received by Meghan Trainor
During her career, Trainor has won three ASCAP Pop Music Awards, two Billboard Music Awards, a People's Choice Award, and received one Grammy Award.She was named the "Breakthrough Artist of the Year" by the Music Business Association in 2014. Among her achievements, Trainor became the 21st woman to land her debut single at the top of the Billboard Hot 100, and the fifth female artist to follow up her chart-topping debut single with another top 5 release. On the Billboard Year-End charts for 2015, Trainor was listed seventh on Top Artists and second on Top Female Artists.
Meghan Elizabeth Trainor was born on December 22, 1993 in Nantucket, Massachusetts, the daughter of Kelly Anne "Kelli" (Jekanowski) and Gary Trainor, both jewellers. Trainor has two brothers: Ryan (born 1992) and younger brother Justin. Trainor began singing at age six, initially singing with her father at church. She began writing music at age 11, starting with her own arrangement of the song "Heart and Soul" (1938).Trainor attributes her early career progress to being born into a musical family. Trainor's father was a music teacher and musician, and plays organ in a Methodist church. Her great-uncle Bob LaPalm was in a prior band with Al Anderson of the rock band NRBQ, and Trainor's aunt and Trinidadian uncle, Lisa and Burton Toney, are soca music performers and songwriters.
At age 11, Trainor told her father that she wanted to become a recording artist and began writing songs, recording them using GarageBand from her MacBook. "She did a lot by ear," her mother recalls. Her father encouraged her to explore various musical genres. At age 12, Trainor began performing as part of Island Fusion, an "all-purpose party band" which performed covers, soca music, and Trainor's compositions. The band included her aunt, her younger brother, and her father.Trainor played piano, guitar, and bongo drum, and sang with the band for four years. By age 13, Trainor had written her first original song, "Give Me a Chance".When she was in the eighth grade, the family left Nantucket. They temporarily relocated to Orleans, Massachusetts before moving to North Eastham, Massachusetts, where the children attended Nauset Regional High School. At Nauset Regional High, Trainor studied guitar and was a substitute cheerleader.Additionally, Trainor sang and played trumpet in a jazz band for three years.
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