Meghan Trainor has "found herself dreaming" on The Timeless Tour the past few weeks.
“I'm still trying to recover from Madison Square Garden. That was the best night of my life. I cried so hard afterwards,” the “Whoops” singer shared just after the big gig in late September. “Then there’s [Denver’s] Red Rocks, which I've never even been to, and I'll probably cry when I play there. And The [Kia] Forum [in L.A.], the last show, is going to make me sob. Chicago's going to be a big one for me too,” she adds of a stop on Oct. 5 at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont.
If emotions are getting the best of Trainor, it’s understandable why. Her current amphitheater/arena tour is not only her biggest production yet, but it’s also the singer-songwriter’s first concert circuit in seven years after multiple vocal cord surgeries threatened to sideline her future just as she was starting out. The tour also marks the passage of 10 years since “All About That Bass” launched in June 2014, selling 11 million copies and catapulting her to headliner status.
Released when she was just 20 years old, the modern doo-wop-pop hit became an anthem of body positivity and made Trainor a poster child for messages of self-empowerment. The singer-songwriter, who turned 30 last December, admitted she “appreciates it more” now.
“I was worried I would only be the ‘bass girl’ forever. And now I'm proud of her. … Every night on tour, I ask, ‘Do you all remember 10 years ago when I released this song and you made it No. 1?’ It’s my way to thank everyone and remember that we're here because of it.”
The Megatronz (the name for Trainor stans) have followed her ever since, nearly 30 million strong on Spotify and tallying up more than 3 billion combined streams of hits like “Made You Look,” “Dear Future Husband” and “Like I’m Gonna Lose You,” featuring John Legend. Trainor’s latest album, and sixth LP, “Timeless” (released in June) has found similar success, buoyed by the self-love number, “I Wanna Thank Me,” featuring a sample of actress Niecy Nash’s 2024 Emmy Awards acceptance speech and two tracks (“Been Like This” and “Love On Hold”) with T-Pain.
“He's my hero. I've listened to T-Pain forever … he's a songwriting god in my eyes,” Trainor shared, saying she always wanted to collaborate with the R&B/hip-hop star but timing never worked out. “It finally happened for my 30th birthday party. He surprised me … and it was a true dream come true.”
Yet it’s the sleeper hit “Criminals” (featured on a deluxe edition of “Timeless”) that really moved the needle when it was picked as the theme song for Netflix’s breakaway series “The Perfect Couple.”
“I got lucky. All the stars aligned,” Trainor admitted of the opportunity.
The whodunit drama, starring Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber and Dakota Fanning, takes place in Nantucket, Massachusetts, which also happens to be Trainor’s hometown. One of the writers, another local, had been acquainted with Trainor’s mom, Kelli, and a showrunner likewise knew of the singer’s island roots.
“My publisher, Carla, was like, 'We have to get this part. You're the Nantucket girl, you must have a song for this,' ” recalled Trainor, whose unreleased track “Criminals” had been sitting around for years. “It wasn't even supposed to be a single and there’s just been such organic love for the song, it’s been incredible.”
The opening dance number for “The Perfect Couple” (choreographed by Trainor’s friend Charm La’Donna) has also been a point of interest in recent weeks. Trainor and her dancers perform it every night on tour, and she has a few pointers for fans wanting to join along.
“It's easier than you think. Take your time. Watch my TikToks, and you'll learn it. And if you mess up, who cares? The whole time I just yell, ‘Hands up!’ So when in doubt, clap it out.”
But perhaps most special is having her husband, actor Daryl Sabara, and two young boys join her on the road trek.
She fits in interviews when the boys nap, and on days off, the family visits local children’s museums and aquariums to add to the “Timeless”-ness of it.
“I'm obsessed with time and how I don't feel like we get enough of it on this planet,” Trainor added. “I'm just trying to be more present in every moment and appreciate what we have.”
