When you hear Meghan Trainor’s voice on the other end of the phone, you can hear her voice under the weather as she battles a devastating illness on top of a stressful time. “It’s been a really tough two weeks for me,” she says, eager to set the record straight about recent headlines. In conjunction with the release of her seventh studio album, toy with me (Release date: Epic Records on Friday) Trainor was about to embark on her national Get In Girl tour, named after the album’s peppy Take Charge single. But last week, she announced via Instagram Stories that “after a lot of reflection and some really tough conversations,” she was canceling her tour, which was originally scheduled to start June 12 in Michigan.
“The balance of releasing a new album, preparing for a national tour, and adding a new baby girl to our growing family of five has been too much for me to bear right now,” she wrote at the time. “I promise I’ll be back soon.” Trainor explained that while on paper the tour seemed possible, she was overwhelmed by the logistics of bringing her three young children with her. (In addition to newborn baby girl Mikey, whom she and husband Daryl Sabara adopted as a surrogate mother in January, they also have Riley, 4, and Barry, 2.)
“I have to choose my children first, and I have to be the mother they need right now,” she says signboard A heartbreaking decision. “Please tell all the fans reading this that I’m shocked. I’m so sorry. I wish I could make a video for all the families who got tickets to my daughter’s show. I think that’s what hurts me the most.”
The internet was quick to speculate as to why, which is ironic. toy with me‘s lead single, “Still Don’t Care,” focuses on negative online chatter she has dealt with over the years, including comments about her weight loss. Traynor reveals her raw emotions on this album, all told through the lens of the doo-wop-infused sounds she’s become known for, telling stories of angst and strength with a pop twist.
Ahead of its release, the Grammy Award winner spoke candidly. signboard On recent headlines, the impact her three children have had on her career, and the cathartic evolution of her music, including album closer “Shimmer.” “I want everyone to sing with a feeling of affirmation,” she says. “It’s like, ‘I’m a no-no, so I don’t care what anyone thinks.'”
Let’s set the record straight. Because there’s a lot of chatter online about this tour right now. So, in your own words, what happened?
I was devastated. It’s really sad. My second child just started kindergarten and we all keep getting sick. So I was really overwhelmed finishing the album and music videos. Then the thought of touring came to mind and I got really scared seeing how sick the kids were and how young they were. I also have a 3 month old and find myself spending too much time at work instead of spending time with them. So I had a lot of discussions with my husband and team, and we realized that touring would be very difficult for three children of this age. And for me, it would be very difficult because I don’t have much time with them. I had to look at the bigger picture and say, “Do I choose my career or do I choose to be a mother now?” It may sound dramatic, but that’s what happened last week. But it’s scary. I’m really sad and I don’t know what the right decision is, but I know my kids are my priority and I need to be with them now and bond with them before my 3 month old gets too big and this time I lose.
Now that you are a mother of three children, do you see everything from a completely different perspective?
(I have to remind myself) My work will always be there. I’m a workaholic, so I work forever and never give up on my dreams. However, I realized that my dream bigger than my career was my family. Recently I was drowning and needed help to see it. I couldn’t do it all, and I thought I did it all. But my family helped me. My husband helped me and said, “Listen, I know how important this album is to you, and I know how important this tour is to you, and I know you’ve worked so hard for it, but take a step back. Let’s look up and realize that we have three young, beautiful children who need our help.”Then, the same week I decided to do so, both of my children turned pink and the baby had trouble sleeping and eating. It was a two-week mess and a sign from someone that “this might be too much.” And I think, “Oh, that’s right.”
I just know what is safest and best for my family. And I wasn’t touring for three straight months in the summer heat with a newborn baby and two young children. We were trying to arrange a second bus so the kids could leave early so they wouldn’t have to live in the bus all day. There were many advantages and disadvantages, but the disadvantages outweighed them.
It was reported that the house was sold around the same time as the tour was cancelled. People also wondered if they were related.
No, I had been trying to sell that house for two years. It was interesting to see that on the internet. In fact, I’ve never even touched my phone. I had a friend send it to me from old TMZ since I had taken a break from social media. It didn’t feel good and I can’t imagine what everyone is saying online now, but I don’t see the comments and I don’t care anymore.
I know that happens to be the theme of your lead single “Still Don’t Care.” She sings lyrics like, “I told you I was too fat, but now I’m too thin/And I’m trying to stand out, but I want to blend in.” Is there any catharsis in singing or writing songs like that?
Yes, certainly. During the writing process, I learned that my baby girl would be born through surrogacy. At the same time, I felt the most hatred I have ever received, especially towards my own body. And I was just thinking about how difficult this world is, especially for a girl, and I was just so worried about her. So I wanted to write an anthem that she could sing someday when she felt the same way I did. It was really difficult. It was really difficult. Everyone is really mean and loud these days just on social media and it seems like the meanest comments win these days. I think we live in a very hateful time, and it’s really sad.
So I don’t see any comments anymore. It really affects my mental health and I can’t allow what strangers say to affect my mental health. I have to be the best parent I can be. It’s sad, but that was my answer to you and your opinion of me. Preparations are complete, okay.
Your album expresses these emotional themes in a very lively manner. What is the idea behind it?
I always like to write happy songs. At least in my projects, I don’t write a lot of sad, slow songs, especially like “Shimmer.” As the next song after “Still Don’t Care,” I wanted to write “Get in Girl” to say, “Now we’re badasses. Be confident and start loving yourself today.” It’s also a sad topic, but I made it feel positive, like, “Get over that man who shattered you.”
The name of the new album is toy with me. What inspired that title?
All of my albums start with a “T” which stands for the first family of Trainor. So I trapped myself there. And I had kids and I played with toys all day long, and I thought, “I want my music to take me to my childhood, when everything was easier, better, lighter.” When you want people to pick up the album and look at it and say, “Everything is fine. I’m a kid again. I’m safe. It’s okay. Here I can dance and be happy. Here I can safely cry.” That was around the time I was getting pretty hot online and I was like, “OK, mess with me, mess with me.” That’s fine. I can handle it. ”
Your discography to date is a record of your own evolution. toy with me“Little One” is dedicated to children. Can you talk about the meaning behind that?
I wanted to write songs for children, so I wrote some songs. There’s another song on there called “Angels” and it’s for them. They make me believe in angels. “Little One” is my only slow song and it’s all about the fear of my children. Everything I went through, I just hope they never have to deal with. Being my child is a different experience. When we go to Disney World or something, everyone asks their parents for a picture, and they haven’t freaked out yet, but I have to prepare them in the car by saying, “This is what happens when a stranger comes up to Mom and asks her to take a picture.” It’s strange, but I want to protect it for the rest of my life. I just want to keep them in a bubble and not let anything happen to them, and that was my song to them. This is my time capsule moment. I always look at my 5-year-old and think, “If they stop growing, stop doing that!” And he said, “You have to do that.” So I had to put them on the album and every time I play it they love it so much. They freeze up and then say, “This is our song.” So it’s magic.
Speaking of dedication, the video for “Still Don’t Care” is a love letter to L.A., featuring lots of singing and dancing around the city and real people. Why was it important to you to shine a light on the city?
I love LA and have lived here for over 10 years now, but I have no intention of living anywhere else. But I think for me, it was also exposure therapy. I’m very shy and I get very nervous and anxious when performing in front of people. So we all came up with this idea and thought, let’s just make a butt and myself, dress like the most pop star princess you can imagine, and actually go out in public and get people’s live reactions. And everyone thought it was funny and smart and different. On the day we shot it, it seemed like we broke all the rules, but luckily we didn’t get kicked out anywhere. It was really exciting and scary. I’ve never broken any rules. I wasn’t a bad kid, so it was fun. I was embarrassed when I shot at The Grove, but in the end I was liberated. A lot of people were following me and I didn’t even know there was someone behind me. When I turned around, I was surprised. I thought, oh my god, they’re into it. It was very difficult to make, but it was liberating and I’m very proud of this video.
Let’s end it with the beginning of my career. Do you remember the first time you went to LA? When “All About That Bass” became a hit and eventually reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100?
I used to come here for a week or two at a time as a songwriter when I was about 18 or 19 years old. I was in the hotel every day writing songs. Just grinding and working in the studio. But when “All About That Bass” came out, I came out to shoot that music video and thought it was the coolest thing ever. My mother also came with me. I didn’t even have a management job at the time, but it was the craziest experience of my life. I have never had anyone do my makeup or hair. Suddenly, there were pink stripes in her hair, which made her look very attractive. I remember watching my mom and I build the set during dance rehearsals. We thought, “I can’t believe there are so many people working on this little song.” And at the end of the day, my mom and I started crying. we were very happy. Then I called my father crying. “I was a pop star, Dad!”
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