Meghan Trainor Owns Motherhood and Matrimony on Upcoming Album ‘Takin’ It Back’

June 24, 2022 12:00 pm

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Meghan Trainor has revealed her fourth album, Takin’ It Back, out Oct. 21, a collection of 15 songs fueled by the artist’s journey through motherhood, marriage, and regaining new confidence.

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Revisiting some of the sonic feels of her 2015 debut Title, Trainor says Takin’ It Back is more reflective of her current phase of life.

“I tried to do the doo-wop feel I had at the beginning of my career, but the 2022 version of it,” said Trainor of the album in a statement. “This is from the new Meghan, who is a wife and mom with a baby. This is from me right now. I decided to give the people what they want, but with my spices added to it. I wanted to make my Title 2.0.”

Working with a “core squad” group, including Gian Stone, Federico Vindver, Sean Douglas, and her younger brother Justin Trainor out of her own home studio, Takin’ It Back flips through anthemic pop, all centered around Trainor’s life journey since getting married to Daryl Sabara in 2018 and welcoming their first child, son Riley, in 2021.

On the new single “Bad For Me,” featuring Teddy Swims, Trainor gives a clear directive Please don’t make promises that you can’t keep. Your best intentions end up hurting me, blossoming around her doo-wop pop.

Directed by Thom Kerr (Iggy Azalea, Kim Petras), the accompanying video finds Meghan and Teddy in a dream-like world of flowers interspersed with landscape imagery to illustrate the song’s meaning of distancing from toxic relationships.

“My dad actually sent me Teddy’s video for ‘Broke,’ and I’ve been so obsessed with him ever since,” said Trainor of the artist’s 2020 single, featuring Thomas Rhett. “It’s a dream to record with someone who has that good of a voice, and he’s the sweetest guy ever.”

Trainor adds, “The song is a true story for me. It’s about how I stood up for myself and took a step back from a relationship that was hurting me more than anything. It’s hard to do, but I needed to in order to feel better.”

Meghan and Swims are scheduled to perform “Bad For Me” for the first time on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on June 24.

Takin’ It Back Tracklist