- 5 months ago
Meghan Trainor is dancing her way through the pain, as the GRAMMY-winning singer has returned with the new album, 'Toy With Me,' bright and beautiful but fueled by some real tough emotions behind-the-scenes. She unpacks it all during an Audacy Check In with Bru.
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MusicTranscript
00:00yeah give us the like the era of life that you're in right now oh I'm it's it's funny I'm
00:05like uh
00:06I'm overwhelmed and frustrated and angry and learning about my body still like ADHD I just
00:11got diagnosed with and it's uh all my three kids are at that young age where they're going to
00:16school and they're picking up germs so I have a lot of all in one week there's been a lot
00:21of
00:21diarrhea and pink eye and infections and
00:28what's going on it's brew it's time for another odyssey check-in today with one of our favorites
00:32I think she makes the catchiest music ever yeah Megan Trainor is here hi hi Megan if that's my
00:41legacy that's the best that's like the one thing that came to mind first I mean besides like
00:44incredible mom um I know that because she's basically my mother yeah and but your music I
00:49mean gosh just so many good memories wrapped around it like nostalgic also current you have
00:54so much fun stuff coming out now uh when this interview's out your album will be here oh yay
00:59it's out finally I can breathe now how do you feel now that it's out in the world relieved yay
01:04oh my
01:05gosh so I mean it's it's gonna be so fun because it's summer almost spring and we need this kind
01:10of
01:10music I mean shimmer we just got to hear and that's the song that I can't wait to play on
01:13the radio
01:14I'd love to start with that and just the album as a whole um yeah give us the like the
01:18era of life
01:19that you're in right now oh I'm it's it's funny I'm like uh I'm overwhelmed and frustrated and angry
01:26and learning about my body still like ADHD I just got diagnosed with and it's uh all my three kids
01:32are at that young age where they're going to school and they're picking up germs so I have a lot
01:36of
01:37all in one week there's been a lot of uh diarrhea and pink eye and infections and and and so
01:45I'm very
01:45overwhelmed um and angry I was very angry and sassy like getting girls written about a real breakup that
01:52happened in my family um and so I was heartbroken um a lot of my online content I just got
01:59so much
01:59hate for the first time ever like back right back on my body everyone just wants to talk on my
02:04body and
02:05it was heartbreaking but I got to write all these bangers out of it and so I'm using this album
02:10as my
02:11therapy to get me out of this little dark overwhelmed cloud that I'm in and so I can go
02:16dance and party and celebrate and escape this crazy world for a minute wow oh my there's so much to
02:22unpack just from all that like first of all why do kids throw up so much when they're little why
02:25I remember that now it unlocks the memory like the kid next to you in school and you're like oh
02:29yeah bring out the sawdust dude you're living the dream I'm like I caught puke in a car
02:34yesterday oh my gosh yeah and then talking about a breakup in the family that's such an interesting
02:40term because it's like is it it's like a death in the family you know right like a marriage yeah
02:45oh man that's tough not mine mine's thriving but a close one you know in the fam and it's
02:50and it's tough to watch because you're like oh that's a death now like you know and yeah I found
02:54out in the middle of my tour last summer so I was like and then then I went right to
02:59writing an
03:00album but it was all about that you know um and then shimmer is like my let's get over this
03:05let's
03:05start loving ourselves from scratch and be confident and um I wanted to give me a song to hype me
03:10up for
03:11tour you know and now I'm like oh I'm gonna be tired when I sing that song yeah because the
03:16music
03:16video I trained for weeks for the dancing I can't wait to see that obviously it's out now but um
03:21the
03:22the song like almost demands a type of movement that I can imagine on stage yeah I immediately got with
03:28my choreographer and creative director charm LaDonna who just did the super bowl and then she helped
03:33Rosalia with her tour she's like the top of the top and the only reason I get to have her
03:37is because
03:37I've known her since I was 19 with all about that bass so she like she's family forever and when
03:43I
03:44played her this album she was like I want shimmer I want that video and I was like okay so
03:48she directed
03:48it did the choreo creative the whole thing outfits every detail was charm LaDonna and um it's my
03:55favorite music video my entire career wow and it's the thing I'm most proud of when I die I'll
04:00be like that video rocked you know put the uh qr code on your tombstone 110% like that video
04:07you
04:07love a music video right yeah it's so it's the hardest thing yeah it's so hard the getting girl
04:12one was like 95 degrees we were dancing all day no air conditioning like that was all around LA right
04:18it was in Ontario oh I'm thinking I still don't care I still don't care that was hard that was
04:23exposure therapy like they're the hardest part I was I always laugh and go I just wanted to write
04:27a song you know and now I'm like I'm on a TMZ bus screaming to these people I don't care
04:32I can't
04:33even imagine nightmare that stresses me out and I'm not like famous I'm like they're coming yeah
04:38were you really lifted in the air I was with professionals like um they did like Jurassic Park
04:43and like all these crazy movies and they're like these old dudes that were like so sweet and they're
04:48like we're gonna strap you up we can lift a car up there I was like are you sure because
04:51I have
04:51children like I want to live yeah and I went up there and they didn't tell me that it's programmed
04:56already so I kept going up and I said that's enough and I kept going button's been pushed
05:01yeah they're like we can't stop it and I was like please and so I was terrified you came down
05:06fast it
05:06was like so fast I fell the first time they were like try to catch your feet I was like
05:10I'm in heels
05:11and I went right down I will say the Jurassic Park guys are the dudes I would want yeah I
05:15was like
05:15they got it figured out with you they're like yeah we flew down the street with Will Smith once I
05:18was
05:19like okay he does big movies yeah he's still alive yeah yeah I love that well on the new album
05:25there
05:25are 16 songs yeah and I feel like at this point of your career in life is it easier now
05:30to narrow
05:31down the songs that make an album or is it almost harder oh I just try to beat myself every
05:35time so
05:36it's at the end of it well I had like 20 songs and it was really really hard to be
05:41like okay everyone
05:42gets to say like the whole family managers friends I'm like please help me which one's better
05:47um but uh yeah I did every session I would play the last song from the session so we had
05:53to beat
05:53this and then we'll go in and try to do that was there a song that was like split you
05:58know like
05:58what was the closest one to be like we want this the it's with the deluxe idea which like we
06:03don't
06:04even do anymore we're just gonna release extra songs after the album's out but there's a whole
06:08idea of like the deluxe having two songs after or now they do five songs I'm like five songs
06:14so I I try to save some songs at first you're like oh my least favorite songs will go on
06:19the
06:19deluxe and now it's like save the big special ones for the deluxe but then you're like well
06:23they're not gonna hear it right away and but it's a it's a weird it's a whole game yeah I'm
06:28like
06:28they'll all be out one day they'll all be out one day people will hear this there's light at the
06:31end
06:31of the tunnel yeah oh well I can't wait to yeah I keep talking in past tense I'm like can't
06:36wait to
06:37hear it it's out now it's so good wow do you think I mean you talked about the breakup of
06:41the
06:41family is it easier to include life experiences do you think or at this point too is it easier to
06:46be like a character and you can write about something that's not even necessarily what
06:49you relate to I try to make all my songs relatable for anyone out there so I don't yeah I
06:55try not to
06:55be like I try not to say he or she or narrow it down to one person right that would
07:01be crazy
07:04but uh yeah so I I try when I'm in the studio to be like let's make it so that
07:09anyone can use
07:09this song and if you're going through like a friend breakup you're like get in girl we'll get
07:13over this you know yeah um because that's how I use music like therapy but uh yeah I can't help
07:20writing about personal stuff it's always related to something yeah that's going on but you just make
07:24it you know relatable to everyone I got a song for my babies on the album a few songs for
07:29them but
07:29sometimes my love songs for them I just make general love songs that you could play at a wedding
07:33too so I have a song called angels that's for them um that you it's like also a dance song
07:38you
07:38played a wedding and then I have my ballad for them the only slow song it's for my babies and
07:44it's like uh stay young I wish you could stay young forever what's it called little one that's what
07:48it's called I wrote another song called stay young um but little one I wish you could stay little
07:53forever and you hear them at the end go I love you mama and I'm like oh that's like a
07:57memory forever
07:58I can trap that's so wholesome yeah they love it that's their song it's fun to think of it as
08:02a
08:02wedding song too or a certain song it's like this is a wedding song what's what's one of your
08:05favorite wedding songs anything by earth when a fire um yeah dancing that's always the transition
08:11all right guys you've been fed like september bring it on um and then of course at my wedding it's
08:18like backstreet boys we gotta go back to britney spears we gotta go back to some 2000s things
08:25did you have a dj or a live band i had a dj that's you know i was in my
08:29backyard the classics
08:30except i was angry at my dj bless him i was like what what are you doing like wasn't playing
08:36what
08:36you wanted no that's the worst or yeah he played something wrong and i was just like my dude i
08:40need
08:41help all you have to do is plus what i told you to play you know yeah but he did
08:45okay i i heard i
08:46saw a clip you know everything's on social media now but it was like someone wanted the instrumental
08:51of 21 questions by 50 cent which crazy choice to be like walking down the aisle to they just played
08:56the explicit song without the violins and it was like this is so odd the grandpa's like so my second
09:02wedding which was still with my husband um we just renewed our vows and it was more casual we're all
09:07in hoodies in the backyard but we set up chairs i highly recommend it it was awesome every five years
09:12we're doing it i walked down to t-pain that makes so much sense though you i can't believe it
09:17that one
09:18oh it was the mp tree and my mom and my dad walked behind me and we were all dancing
09:26down the aisle it was great i love that gosh it was so good i feel like everyone asks all
09:31the time
09:31like how has being a mom influenced you as a musician or a songwriter i want to know the opposite
09:37how has
09:37being a pop star influenced you as a mom um yeah it's definitely uh it's changed my mind a lot
09:45it's
09:46i was scared to have a daughter because my life is a majority of my job is being commented on
09:52on my body
09:53yeah and it's never about like my talent or my songs anymore it's all like what she looks like
09:59her with bangs her outfits her choices and um and i wanted to write on this album like buckle up
10:06daughter
10:07like this world it's gonna be a little bit rough for us but um i didn't end up doing that
10:12i just wrote
10:12these big anthems that are like i don't care about what people think it's okay and i went in that
10:18that direction instead of just being sad so um it changes a lot yeah it's just like highlighted i
10:25think it's everyone feels these things with social media but mine has like 18 million people
10:30looking you know a little different a little bit different i'm nervous for posting on facebook my
10:34hometown friends i can imagine you know yeah yeah the masses like that well i'm so excited for you
10:3916 songs on the album how should it be listened is it like a thing where all the way top
10:43to bottom
10:43um is it in the car what's the ideal scenario of listening yeah in the car on your way to
10:48work i
10:49um we always we take the track listing very seriously my managers and i go back and forth
10:54um and we like we say this is my first draft what do you think and they're like what about
10:59so we and the family too we all um we all chime in on opinions on what song should go
11:06where
11:06so it all matters and i don't know if you just listen to it i'll be stoked you can listen
11:11whatever
11:11you want yeah take your time well it's a group project too i love it always is everything from
11:16the font to the colors everything is so worked on over and over again a million times you know
11:23one has any idea it's crazy it's working out though it's working so far here did you try anything new
11:29for the first time on this album i tried yeah i tried to bring back instruments oh and uh because
11:35i was gonna get a band and then i realized they're so expensive so then i went back to dancers
11:39and so then i wrote shimmer oh i was like oh wait this is fun so a lot of the
11:44a lot of the songs
11:45are full we got instruments like real live players which was amazing but then i couldn't miss out on
11:52songs like shimmer where it's just like a dirty synth yeah that's so interesting so like i'm in
11:56compared to what making an album almost like not artificially but it isn't with like an actual band
12:01yeah like made you look we we had fake horns going bump bump bump bump bump bump bump bump bump
12:05and then
12:06we added horns to it but writing all those songs was like all fake just a piano wow that's so
12:13crazy
12:13do you feel like not to go deep question do you feel like you have anything left to prove you've
12:18done so sorry and she takes a sip from the most unserious cup i love that by the way left
12:23to prove
12:24yeah oh yeah all the time i feel like i have to constantly prove myself to myself it's me it's
12:29me
12:29torturing my head um everyone's like you're making sure i'm like that sounds like i'm in trouble uh
12:35like i i feel there's so much out there that genuinely i feel i feel so lost and i i
12:43feel like
12:43no one um no one even knows i have songs out all the time i'm like does anyone know i
12:48have an album
12:49come coming because there's so much stuff and it happens to us artists i had a friend that literally
12:54performed on snl and while they were in glam the makeup artist was like when are you gonna release
13:00music and they're like i'm here for the album release you know so i'm in my head all the time
13:06of like does anyone even hello like are you there do you know so we never know and we're i
13:12think artists
13:12we just like constantly constantly i am just critiquing myself and being like wow why why aren't you
13:19better why can't we be better yeah well that's probably you know part of why you're so successful
13:23you know don't you think so many people have that because it is like the thing of always getting
13:27better or never really satisfied yeah people are like keep that and i'm like yeah but it's kind of
13:30killing me you know absolutely me i can't sleep is there any guardrails you had to put up or like
13:35how's your relationship with music kind of changed over the years now that you're oh i don't listen to
13:39music in the cars really yeah on the car rides value silence yeah i value silence i can't i studying
13:45it
13:45too much i got too obsessed and i i want to hear new songs i go i want to made
13:48that choice and it
13:49bugs me wow and my husband does it with movies and tv shows but we can appreciate movies and tv
13:55we
13:55but oh what a shot you know and then it changes the way you do it like we loved um
13:59benson boom i thought
14:01his stuff was so creative musically and like tough to write and i love so much music i love the
14:06pop music
14:06popping off i've loved zara larson before anyone else did period i was screaming why is no one
14:11understanding this um but and for movies too my husband will be like that was garbage or we'll get
14:17really upset like hurt like it offended us yeah you're looking at it through different eyes right
14:21perfect yeah because it's your job which ruins us so you're wrapped at the end of the year is just
14:25like zen music it's like sounds you know like white noise or something i wake up my husband's playing
14:29like spa music on his phone that's amazing it's probably so good for you too and then i come in
14:35with
14:35like let's watch some youtube and he's like yeah i love you mentioned zara too shout out to her for
14:40like just finally having the moment that she deserves since she was 13 yeah it's so fun always
14:46catching up with you and um hearing what's next uh the album is out now toy with me and shimmer
14:51is
14:52so good i can't wait to play that on the radio gosh i feel like i could talk to you
14:55for an hour
14:55about all the different updates anything i missed anything else we should you nailed it you're the
14:58best interviewer there ever was and you actually care about the music so thank you so much we gotta
15:01see the mug real quick etsy you said an amazing artist on etsy created this i've like already
15:06used it so much i probably broke it but that's my album cover my mommy ordered this for me oh
15:11i
15:11need to see the back m train m train yeah i well i told her people would call me that
15:16one day and
15:17everyone laughed and i was like it'll happen yeah so she always hypes me up i love that you picked
15:22your own nickname that should be on the merch i would buy 10 of those right now right they're gonna
15:27take so long to make but thank you to the amazing etsy artist you're wonderful
15:31that's amazing and you are too thank you for the great music over the years and being such a nice
15:35person and someone who's so fun to get to hang with and obviously listen to all your great music
15:40appreciate you so much megan trainer you're the best
15:42you
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