After more than a decade in the spotlight,Meghan Trainoris blessed, booked and busy.
“When I became a mom, my career had a whole new life,” she tells PEOPLE exclusively in this week’s issue.
Diana Koenigsberg
Indeed, last fall Trainor wrappedher biggest tour in years, which included a sold-out show at Madison Square Garden; she just launched a “Cloud Skin”makeup collab with e.l.f. Cosmetics; and on March 28 she’ll celebrate the 10th anniversary of her debut album,Title, with arereleasefeaturing eight additional tracks.
“I had a whole reboot, and it’s because my kids made me want to be the best version of me,” says Trainor, who is mom to sonsRiley, who turns 4 in February, andBarry, 18 months, with herhusband,Spy Kidsactor Daryl Sabara, 32. “I’m not peaking. I’ve just begun.”
“I thought, ‘Okay, well, the charts are representing my music, so I must be just bad at songwriting now,’ ” Trainor recalls. “I felt like I was a failure because it wasn’t No. 1. It’s sad that all that pressure is on you.”
Trainor’s perspective changed when she became a mom. “Priorities shifted. It’s like, ‘What charts? My kids love this,’ ” she says. “At night when we’re doing bath time, I’m like, ‘Want to hear Mommy’s new song?’ Getting to talk to my older son now, I’ll ask, ‘What does Mommy do?’ He’s like, ‘She’s a pop star.’ Like, yeah, Mommy’s cool!”
Meghan Trainor and friend Chris Olsen on tour in October 2024.Meghan Trainor/Instagram
Meghan Trainor/Instagram
Motherhood gave Trainor a creative reset — and so did TikTok. She found a new fan base on the app when she began posting videos with influencer Chris Olsen, and she scored her biggest hit in years when her single “Made You Look” went viral (with a choreographed dance and all!) in 2022. Trainor had similar success last year whenthe cast of Netflix’sThe Perfect Coupledanced to her song “Criminals”in the opening credits, sparking another online trend.
Trainor performed hits new and old when she promoted her latest album,Timeless, on tour last year — with her kids in tow.
“I’d be fully glammed up, picking boogies, putting diapers on, putting them in their pajamas before a show. My glitter would be leaking on them; I would peel eyelashes off them all the time, but they loved it,” she says. “Nobody misses it more than Riley. Every day he’s like, ‘Can we go back on tour?’ ”
Meghan Trainor performing at Madison Square Garden in September 2024.Rich Fury/MSG
Rich Fury/MSG
As the Grammy winner prepares to celebrate her roots with the 10th-anniversary rerelease ofTitleon March 28, she’s facing the future with renewed passion.
“Where I am right now is far beyond anything I could have ever dreamed of,” Trainor says. “I always wanted a family. Check. Now I need some daughters. But I never thought I could be a pop star because I didn’t believe in myself. Now 19-year-old Meghan putting out ‘All About that Bass’ is stoked; she’s so proud, like, ‘I didn’t know you could do that.’ It took 10 years to become brave, but I’m finally thriving.”
For more on Meghan Trainor, pick up the new issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands everywhere Friday.
source: people.com
