Meghan Trainor Reflects On 10 Years In Music: “I’ve Just Begun”

Meghan Trainor is living her dream. The 31-year-old pop star has built a life filled with love, music, and success, but getting here wasn’t easy. From becoming an overnight sensation in 2014 with All About That Bass to battling self-doubt, vocal cord issues, and industry pressure, she’s had her fair share of struggles. But now, thanks to motherhood and a viral TikTok moment, Meghan is thriving like never before.

“When I became a mom, my career had a whole new life,” she shares. Meghan, who has two sons — Riley, 4, and Barry, 18 months — with her husband, Spy Kids actor Daryl Sabara, credits her children for reigniting her passion. “I had a whole reboot, and it’s because my kids made me want to be the best version of me,” she says. “I’m not peaking. I’ve just begun.”

Despite her massive success with Title in 2014, Meghan was once told that pop stars have an expiration date. “I was told at 20 by an older gentleman in the industry, ‘Well, she’s a mom, so nobody really cares,’” she recalls. 

At the time, she believed it. When her sophomore album didn’t top the charts like her debut, she started doubting herself. “I thought, ‘Okay, well, the charts are representing my music, so I must be just bad at songwriting now. I felt like I was a failure because it wasn’t No. 1. It’s sad that all that pressure is on you,” she stated.

Everything changed when she became a mom. “Priorities shifted. It’s like, ‘What charts? My kids love this. 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!,’” she says. 

Motherhood wasn’t the only thing that gave her career a fresh start — TikTok did, too. She found a new audience when she started posting videos with influencer Chris Olsen, and in 2022, her song Made You Look went viral thanks to a catchy dance challenge. Then, in 2023, her song Criminals took off after the cast of Netflix’s The Perfect Couple danced to it in the opening credits. “I got a lot of comments like, ‘I didn’t know you were still doing it.’ I’ve been here, but thank you for joining!”

Last year, Meghan hit the road for her biggest tour in years, selling out Madison Square Garden while juggling life as a mom. “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. Nobody misses it more than Riley. Every day he’s like, ‘Can we go back on tour?’” she explained.

Now, as she gears up for the 10th-anniversary rerelease of Title on March 28, Meghan is embracing the journey that brought her here. “Where I am right now is far beyond anything I could have ever dreamed of. 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 so proud, like, ‘I didn’t know you could do that,’” she shared.