Now that the Song of Summer has officially been declared, we can focus on the songs that are about to dethrone it. You’ll recognize most of the people on the current charts: Taylor, Nicki, Iggy, Sam Smith. But who is this Meghan Trainor woman at No. 2? If that name doesn’t immediately ring any bells, her song will. “All About That Bass,” the throwback ode with the pastel-ridden music video, has already been placed on the workout playlists of Lululemon-wearing women across the country. It’s unstoppable. Here’s what you need to know:
So why do I keep hearing this song everywhere?
As I said, it’s currently No. 2 on the Billboard charts. It’s also insanely catchy. A true earworm, don’t say we didn’t warn you:
Who’s Meghan Trainor? Wait — is she a teen?
Surprisingly, no! Meghan’s 20, and she’s been in this pop-music biz for a while. She had an album in 2011 called I’ll Sing With You, and she wrote songs for people like Rascal Flatts and Girl Meets World star Sabrina Carpenter. “All About That Bass” is her first big hit.
But what does “All About That Bass” actually mean? What’s the bass?
“You know how the bass guitar in a song is like its ‘thickness,’ the ‘bottom’? I kind of related a body to that,” Trainor told Billboard. She wrote it alongside songwriter Kevin Kadish, who also wrote Stacie Orrico’s one-hit-wonder “(There’s Gotta Be) More to Life.”
So it’s about having a big butt.
Isn’t everything these days?
But is it actually empowering?
At first glance, sure, embracing your natural body type is definitely a plus. But lyrics like “’Cause I got that boom boom that all the boys chase / And all the right junk in all the right places” imply that Trainor still looks to a man for acceptance: “Loving yourself because dudes like what you’ve got going on is a pretty flimsy form of self-acceptance,” writes Feministing.
So am I not allowed to like her?
Hey, has feminism ever stopped us from loving catchy pop songs before? Trainor’s “Megatrons” (That’s what she calls her fans, I swear) still love her, and, for that matter, so do her supportive parents, who happen to own a jewelry store on Nantucket — where she’s originally from.
I mean, that song is really catchy. Does she have any more?
BuzzFeed just premiered “Close Your Eyes” this week. There’s also “Dear Future Husband,” which reads like “All About That Bass, Pt. II”: “You got that 9 to 5 / But baby, so do I / So don’t be thinking I’ll be home and baking apple pies.” But if you’re enamored with that bass, you’ll probably be into “Title,” in which Trainor demands that “girlfriend” title (as opposed to “side piece”). Whatever: It’s also very catchy.
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