{"id":391183,"date":"2026-04-21T23:15:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T23:15:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/391183\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T23:15:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T23:15:12","slug":"meghan-trainor-on-motherhood-career-her-kids-favorite-song-of-hers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/391183\/","title":{"rendered":"Meghan Trainor on Motherhood, Career & Her Kids’ Favorite Song of Hers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tWhen Meghan Trainor<\/a>\u2019s voice comes through on the other end of the phone, she sounds under the weather, fighting a nasty sickness on top of an otherwise stressful time. \u201cIt\u2019s been a really rough two weeks for me,\u201d she says, eager to set the record straight about recent headlines. Timed to the release of her seventh studio album, Toy With Me (out Friday via Epic Records), Trainor was about to embark on the nationwide Get In Girl Tour<\/a>, named after the peppy, take-charge single from the album. But last week, she announced via Instagram Story<\/a> that \u201cafter a lot of reflection and some really tough conversations\u201d she was pulling the plug on the tour, which was initially set to kick off on June 12 in Michigan.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\u201cBalancing the release of a new album, preparing for a nationwide tour and welcoming our new baby girl to our growing family of five has just been more than I can take on right now,\u201d she wrote at the time. \u201cI promise I\u2019ll be back soon.\u201d As Trainor explains it, while on paper the tour seemed feasible, she\u2019s been overwhelmed by its logistics with three young kids in tow. (In addition to Mikey, the newborn girl she and husband Daryl Sabara welcomed via surrogate in January, they also share Riley, 4, and Barry, 2.)<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI gotta pick my kids first and I gotta be the mom that they need right now,\u201d she tells Billboard of the heart-wrenching decision. \u201cPlease let all the fans who are reading this know that I\u2019m devastated. I\u2019m so sorry. I wish I could do a video for each family member who got their daughter tickets to my show. I think that\u2019s what hurts the most.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe internet was quick to speculate about the reasons, an irony considering Toy With Me\u2019s lead single \u201cStill Don\u2019t Care\u201d focuses on the negative online chatter she\u2019s grappled with over the years, including comments about her weight loss. While Trainor is baring her raw emotions on the album, it\u2019s all through the lens of the doo-wop-infused sounds she\u2019s become known for: tales of insecurity and empowerment with a pop twist.<\/p>\n

\n\tAhead of its release, the Grammy winner got candid with Billboard about the recent headlines, the effect her three kids have had on her career and the cathartic evolution of her music, including album-closer \u201cShimmer.\u201d \u201cI want everyone to sing as an affirmation,\u201d she says. \u201cLike \u2018I am a badass and I don\u2019t care about what anyone thinks.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tLet\u2019s set the record straight, because there\u2019s a lot of online chatter right now about the tour. So in your own words, what happened?<\/p>\n

\n\tI\u2019m devastated. I\u2019m really sad. My second kid just started preschool and we all keep on getting sick, and I was really overwhelmed with wrapping up the album and the music videos. Then the idea of the tour took over and it was really scary as I was looking at my children and how sick they were and how young they are. I also have a three-month-old, and I realized I was already spending too much time working and not with them. So I talked to my husband and my team a lot and we realized tour would be so difficult on these three kids at this age. And for me it\u2019d be so difficult, as I wouldn\u2019t even be with them that much. I had to take a big overall look of, \u2018Do I choose my career or do I choose being a mom right now?\u2019 As dramatic as that sounds, that\u2019s where we were at last week. But it\u2019s horrible. I\u2019m really sad and I don\u2019t know what the right decision is, but I know that my kids come first, so I have to be with them at this time and bond with my three-month-old before she is too old and I lose this time.<\/p>\n

\n\tAre you looking at everything in a completely different way now that you\u2019re a mom of three?<\/p>\n

\n\t(I have to remind myself) my job will always be there. I\u2019m a workaholic, so I will work forever and I\u2019ll never give up on my dreams, but I realized my biggest dream above a career is my family. I needed help recently to see that because I was drowning. I couldn\u2019t do it all and I thought I was doing it all. But my family helped me. My husband helped me and was like, \u201cListen, I know how important this album is to you, and this tour is to you, and I know you\u2019ve like worked your ass off for it, but take a step back and let\u2019s look up and realize that we have these three young, beautiful kids that need our help.\u201d Then the very same week of deciding that, both my kids had pink eye and the baby was being tough to nap and eat. It was two weeks of chaos, and a sign from somebody saying, \u201cThis might be too much on your plate.\u201d And I\u2019m like, \u201cYeah, you\u2019re right.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tI just know what\u2019s the safest and best thing for my family. And it wasn\u2019t to tour for three months straight in the heat of summer with a new baby and two young children. I was about to get a second bus for the kids to go early so they wouldn\u2019t have to live on a bus all day long. There were a lot of pros and a lot of cons, but there were just too many cons.<\/p>\n

\n\tIt was reported you sold your house around the same time as the tour cancellation. People were also wondering if those were connected.<\/p>\n

\n\tNo, I\u2019ve been trying to sell that house for two years. That was a fun one, seeing that online. I actually haven\u2019t even been on my phone; I\u2019ve taken a social media break, so I had a friend send me that from sweet old TMZ. That didn\u2019t feel nice and I can\u2019t imagine what everyone\u2019s saying online right now, but I don\u2019t look at comments and I don\u2019t care anymore.<\/p>\n

\n\tI know that just so happens to be the subject of your lead single, \u201cStill Don\u2019t Care.\u201d You sing lyrics like, \u201cSaid I was too thick, then I got way too thin \/ And I try to stand out, but I wanna fit in.\u201d Is it cathartic to sing and write a song like that?<\/p>\n

\n\tYeah, definitely. During the writing process, I knew my baby girl was coming through a surrogacy. At the same time, I was getting the most hate I\u2019ve ever got specifically on my body. And I was just thinking about how hard this world is, especially for a girl, I was just so worried about her. So I wanted to write an anthem for us to sing one day if she ever feels like I feel. It was really hard. It was really hard. I think nowadays just with social media everyone\u2019s really mean and loud, and it seems like the meanest comment wins these days. I think we\u2019re living in a very hateful time and it\u2019s really sad.<\/p>\n

\n\tSo that\u2019s why I don\u2019t look at comments anymore. It really affects my mental health and I can\u2019t let what strangers say affect my mental health. I have to be the best parent I can. It\u2019s sad, but that was my answer to everyone and their opinions about me. I\u2019m all set, I\u2019m good.<\/p>\n

\n\tYour album presents these emotional topics, but with such cheer. What\u2019s the thinking behind that?<\/p>\n

\n\tI always like to write happy songs. I don\u2019t write a lot of sad slow songs for my projects at least, especially like \u201cShimmer.\u201d For the follow up after \u201cStill Don\u2019t Care,\u201d \u201cGet In Girl\u201d is what I wanted to write about how, \u201cNow we\u2019re a badass, we\u2019re confident and we\u2019re gonna start loving ourselves today.\u201d That\u2019s another sad topic, but I made it sound positive, like, \u201cLet\u2019s get over that guy who broke you to pieces.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe new album is called Toy With Me. What inspired that title?<\/p>\n

\n\tWell, all my albums start with \u201cT\u201d for Trainor to represent family first. So I kind of trapped myself there. And then I had these kids and we play with toys all day long and I was like, \u201cI want my music to take me back to childhood when everything was easier and better and lighter.\u201d When I want people to pick up the album and look at it and say, \u201cAll is well. I\u2019m a child again. I\u2019m safe. I\u2019m OK. I can dance and be happy here. I can safely cry here.\u201d This was around the time when I was getting a lot of heat online and it was like, \u2018OK, toy with me, mess with me. That\u2019s fine. I can handle it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tYour discography to date is a chronicle of your personal evolution, right up to Toy With Me\u2019s \u201cLittle One,\u201d which is dedicated to your kids. Can you talk about the meaning behind it?<\/p>\n

\n\tI knew I wanted to write a song for my kids and I wrote a few. There\u2019s another song called \u201cAngels\u201d on there, that\u2019s for them. They make me believe in angels. \u201cLittle One\u201d is my only slower song and it\u2019s all my fears for my kids. Everything I\u2019ve been going through, I just hope that they never have to deal. Being my kid is a different experience. When we go to Disney World or something, everyone\u2019s asking their parents for pictures and it hasn\u2019t freaked \u2019em out yet, but I have to prep them in the car: \u201cHere\u2019s what happens if a stranger comes up to mommy and asks for a picture.\u201d It\u2019s just weird, and I wanna protect them with my whole life. I wish I can keep \u2019em in a bubble and never let anything happen to them, but that was my song for them: my time capsule moment. I always look at my five-year-old and think, \u201cStop growing, stop doing that!\u201d And he goes, \u201cI have to.\u201d So I had to put them in the album, and every time I play it, they love it so much: they freeze and then they go, \u201cThat\u2019s our song.\u201d So it\u2019s magic.<\/p>\n

\n\tSpeaking of dedications, the video for \u201cStill Don\u2019t Care\u201d is a love letter to L.A. where you sing and dance through the city and include a bunch of actual people. Why was that important for you to shine a light on the city?<\/p>\n

\n\tI love L.A. I\u2019ve been here for over 10 years now and I\u2019m not planning on living anywhere. But for me, I guess it was also exposure therapy. I am really shy and I am nervous and anxious to perform in front of people a lot. So we all came up with this idea and thought let me just make an ass and myself and dress like the most pop star princess you could ever imagine and just go in actual public and let\u2019s get people\u2019s raw reactions. And everyone thought that was funny and clever and different. The day we shot it, we were just like breaking all the rules, but luckily we never got kicked out of anywhere. It was really exciting and terrifying. I\u2019ve never broken the rules, ever. I\u2019ve never been a bad girl, so that was fun. When we shot at The Grove, I was embarrassed, but eventually it was freeing. A crowd of people was following me, and I didn\u2019t even know anyone was behind me. When I looked back and freaked out: like, oh my God, they\u2019re into it. It was liberating and I\u2019m so proud of that video, even though it was so hard to make.<\/p>\n

\n\tLet\u2019s end at the beginning of your career. What do you remember about your first time in L.A.? Was it when \u201cAll About That Bass\u201d became a hit, eventually going No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100?<\/p>\n

\n\tI used to come here as a songwriter for a week or two at a time at like 18 or 19; I would be in hotels and write songs every day. Just in the studio, grinding and working. But when \u201cAll About That Bass\u201d came out, I came out to do a music video for it and I thought that was the coolest thing ever. My mom came with me; I didn\u2019t even have management at the time and it was the craziest experience of my whole life. I never had someone do my makeup or do my hair. All of a sudden I had pink stripes in my hair and I was so glammed up. I remember the dance rehearsals and me and my mom were watching them build the sets. We were like, \u201cI cannot believe all these people are working for this one little song.\u201d And then, at the end of the day, me and my mom started sobbing; we were just so happy. And I called my dad crying. \u201cI was a pop star, dad!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Meghan Trainor\u2019s voice comes through on the other end of the phone, she sounds under the weather,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":391184,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[65458,156,3295,157,111,139,69,208],"class_list":{"0":"post-391183","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-billboard-family","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-genre-pop","11":"tag-music","12":"tag-new-zealand","13":"tag-newzealand","14":"tag-nz","15":"tag-tour"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391183","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=391183"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391183\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/391184"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=391183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=391183"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=391183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}