This is like…31% farce
So *deep sigh* why are we here today?
We’re here to watch me meagerly defend a famous, rich white woman. A white woman who recently cycled through the news because Jay-Z named her an Inspire Change Advocate for his WEIRD partnership with the NFL. A white woman who I believe has done very little to garner the hate that she receives.
Is her music the reason people seem to dislike her so pointedly? When she first came onto the scene her music was poppy re-imagining throwbacks to the doo-wop style of the 50s and 60s. Songs like “All About That Bass” and “Dear Future Husband“¹ borrow heavily from a time when The Chordettes, The Temptations, etc. were around. Meghan’s early stuff was EVERYWHERE; you couldn’t go anywhere without hearing “All About That Bass”. It reminds me of the time when “Hey, Soul Sister” was making my ears bleed in late 2009-2010. I think the appeal was that her songs were about female empowerment and body positivity right on the cusp of this current wave wave of feminism. Now, am I saying that Meghan Trainor kick-started this movement……………………..MAYBE! probably not.
In any case, it stuck and she became more famous and reiterated those messages on her second album, Thank You. Her sound had morphed from old-school to more straight-up pop bangers mixed in with some island tinged tunes that every pop artist was doing at the time. Singles like “No” and “Me Too” are sassy “I’m a strong woman” anthems that kind of set the tone for the whole project. PLUS THEY SLAP. The rest of Thank You is filled with fun songs along with other gems buried in the track listing. It is not the greatest pop album of all time but it is NOT bad and stays on theme for the most part. In a move that was on brand, she removed a version of her video for “Me Too” because it was edited to make her look thinner then re-uploaded the original. Since then she has released a string of GREAT² singles and an EP about her marriage that I didn’t bother with except the fact she married JUNI CORTEZ FROM SPY KIDS.
She did have some controversy early in her career. She said some silly things regarding feminism that she has since changed her stance. Also the “Dear Future Husband”¹ drew some ire along with drawing criticism about “All About That Bass” not actually being a real body positive song. It’s about as body positive as all the Dove soap campaigns so *shrugs*. She stays in her lane and minds her own business. A criticism I read was that Meghan’s music is unrelatable while artist’s like Lorde really speaks to this (our?) generation. I have a few points about this: 1. Generation Z is far too sad these days. 2. Lorde is a genius. Meghan isn’t even trying to/capable of pulling off what Lorde does. 3. What about Lizzo? Lizzo has an undeniable energy and charisma that is matched by few others but at the core of it, both women have similar goals and going about it in similar ways. High energy pop anthems. Awhile ago, I saw a comment that said, “Lizzo is Meghan Trainor for people who think they are too good for Meghan Trainor” which is by far the funniest thing I’ve ever heard in my life. While I think digging deeper into this off-handed comment is a fools errand, on the surface it has (chicken) legs. It’s much easier to say you like Lizzo but try to explain what you like about just her music without also applying most of those things to Meghan. I’m not going to sit here slander Lizzo because I do really like her screaming all over her album.
Alright, I’m done with this. Meghan doesn’t need me; her bank account got her back. She hopefully has another full album coming out next year and all the singles that have been release for it have been pretty amazing³. I’m excited, you’re not, that’s fine. Is she the right person to help the NFL with it’s many problems? Naw. Is she changing the face of pop music? Nope. Does she make good music. Yes. Does she have some songs that are straight up bad? Yes. Is she so bothersome that you have to HATE her? No. Is this the end of this article? Yes.
Just This Thing 