Tag Archives: Meghan Trainor

Music

More Paths

When Meghan Trainor released her new album Thank You a couple months ago, I remember watching a clip of Trainor talking about her songs.  In particular, she mentioned how she heard “Woman Up” and wanted to use part of the song.  After doing some extensive research (not really, a simple google search), I found the original “Woman Up” by Ashley Roberts

If you listen to both songs, there are obvious similarities – the bass line and structure is almost identical, and she keeps the “woman up, woman up” part of the chorus – which is expected as she did sample the song (i.e. she used parts of Roberts song and gave her credit).  However, when I was reading the comments on YouTube on Roberts’ version, a lot of people were bitching about the fact that Trainor sampled the song.  Like it was some toxic evil.  Personally, I like when artists experiment and sample.  I mean, if it weren’t for sampling, we wouldn’t really have most dance music, and remix culture would be dead.  I like looking at (or listening to) an original work and then seeing how someone took that and made it there own.

This is not to say originality is dead or bad – some people easily write off contemporary music as being just that – but sampling gives us new versions of our past favorites and more paths to explore.  Don’t get me wrong, I love original songs and I’m all for that form of creativity, but I don’t think sampling should be knocked down just because people can take an original work and expand on it.

Music

NO

So Meghan Trainor is having a good year.  First she wins the Grammy for Best New Artist and then releases another hit song.  “No,” was released a couple weeks ago, and it almost instantly rose to the top of the charts.

The song itself is classic Trainor: great beats, catchy hooks, and full of sass.  “My name is no, my sign is no, my number is no,” she sings throughout the song, giving the empowering tone that one does not need a man (or woman…although, she does speak exclusively of “if I wanna man, then I’m gonna get a man”) to find happiness or strength.  The best parts of the song is the epic drum beats and attitude she gives.

 

Grammys

Best New Artist – My Predictions

Best New Artist Nominees:

  • Meghan Trainor
  • James Bay
  • Tori Kelly
  • Sam Hunt
  • Courtney Barnett

Who Should Win: Meghan Trainor

I’ve been a Meghan Trainor fan for a couple different reasons.  Yes, she comes from my neck of the woods so I feel a certain kinship to her, but I’m really inspired how she combines elements from different genres into her own to transpire her personality.  She is the only artist this year who really expanded the definition of the all encompassing pop music.  I mean, she added horns, the caribbean kettle drum, acoustic bass, ’50s doo wop, and sass to her album to reimage what we’ve called pop for many years.

I can’t say that Trainor’s album or artistry is the supreme best, but out of all the nominees I feel she rose to a level of defining her genre of music in her own terms.

Who Will Win: I don’t really know.

I know, great prediction.  But this is one category where I seriously have no idea who will win.  Partly because Best New Artist is such a loose category in that your not really judging the artist on one particular song or album or piece of work, your judging them on their whole artistry.  This year, they managed to nominated five incredible artists.  And after listening to all their albums (I’m very proud of myself for doing that…usually I skim through, but I made myself do that…partly out of dedication but also because I was stuck in massive traffic and had nothing else to do…) I could see each one easily winning it.

Grammys

My 2016 Grammy Nominations Predictions

The 2016 Grammy nominations are being announced Monday and I decided to list out my predications of who might be nominated like I do every year.  The list is not complete, these are just brain waves I had and wanted to put out there.

Album of the Year

1989 – Taylor Swift

To Pimp a Butterfly – Kendrick Lamar

The Beauty Behind the Madness – The Weeknd

If You Reading This It’s Too Late – Drake

Song of the Year

“Blank Space” by Max Martin, Shellback, and Taylor Swift (Taylor Swift, artist)

“See You Again” by DJ Frank E, Charlie Puth, Wiz Khalifa, and Andrew Cedar (Wiz Khalifa feat. Charlie Puth, artists)

“Thinking Out Loud” by Ed Sheeran and Amy Wadge (Ed Sheeran, artist)

“Here” by Andrew “Pop” Wansel, Isaac Hayes, Warren “Oak” Felder, Alessia Caracciolo, Terence Lam, Samuel Gerongco, Robert Gerongco, and Coleridge Tillman (Alessia Cara, artist)

“Glory” by John Stephens, Lonnie Lynn, and Che Smith (John Legend feat. Common, artists)

“Girl Crush” by Lori McKenna, Hillary Lindsey, and Liz Rose (Little Big Town, artist)

“Fight Song” by Rachel Platten and Dave Bassett (Rachel Platten, artist)

Record of the Year

“Blank Space” or “Bad Blood (feat. Kendrick Lamar)” by Taylor Swift

“Here” by Alessia Cara

“Thinking Out Loud” by Ed Sheeran

“Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars

“See You Again” by Wiz Khalifa feat. Charlie Puth

“Can’t Feel My Face” by The Weeknd

“FourFiveSeconds” by Rihanna feat. Kanye West and Paul McCartney

“Fight Song” by Rachel Platten

Best New Artist

Meghan Trainor

Hozier

Elle King

The Weeknd

Tori Kelly

Walk the Moon

Fetty Wap

Sam Hunt

Best Pop Vocal Album

1989 – Taylor Swift

Title – Meghan Trainor

How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful – Florence and the Machine

Beauty Behind the Madness – The Weeknd

Honeymoon – Lana Del Rey

Best Pop Solo Performance

“Blank Space” by Taylor Swift

“Lips Are Movin'” by Meghan Trainor

“Thinking Out Loud” by Ed Sheeran

“Here” by Alessia Cara

“Fight Song” by Rachel Platten

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance

“Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars

“Bad Blood” by Taylor Swift feat. Kendrick Lamar

“Like I’m Gonna Lose You” by Meghan Trainor feat. John Legend

“See You Again” by Wiz Khalifa feat. Charlie Puth (*they may put this under the Rap category)

Best Song Written For a Visual Media

From Selma, “Glory” by John Stephens, Lonnie Lynn, and Che Smith (John Legend feat. Common, artists)

From Furious 7, “See You Again” by DJ Frank E, Charlie Puth, Wiz Khalifa, and Andrew Cedar (Wiz Khalifa feat. Charlie Puth, artists)

From Spectre, “Writing’s on the Wall” by Sam Smith and Jimmy Napes (Sam Smith, artist).

Anyway, those are the thoughts I had at the moment and I’ll add to it until Monday when they release the official list.  Some of these probably won’t be nominated, but I figure they deserve a shout out because they were great in 2015.  Just as a fun fact, Adele cannot be nominated this year for “Hello” or 25 because both were released well outside the nomination period.  She’ll definitely be nominated for the 2017 Grammys.

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Biking/Work Out Playlist

I may have mentioned a couple times this past summer, like every summer, that I’ve been biking a lot.  There’s a great bike path right down the street from me, so it’s great to blare the music and peddle my problems away.  Usually I create a playlist each year, and then add or remove songs throughout the year.

I created a Spotify Playlist of some of the music I listen to while biking/working out in case you’re looking for some new beats or a song to change up your playlist.

NOTE: There’s no particular order because I just hit “shuffle” before I start biking.

 

Here’s other songs that I usually listen to, but couldn’t find on Spotify:

Music

Lips Are Movin’

So I was thinking about Meghan Trainor’s song “Lips Are Movin'” and I naturally had the hook of “I know you’re lyin’, ’cause you’re lips are movin'” stuck in my head.  I hadn’t really actually thought what she was saying, just that it was a catchy phrase.  Then I realized she’s literally telling the person that if they’re lips are moving (i.e. whenever they are talking) they’re just lying.  Like, they never speak the truth and they never say anything honest.

I know that’s kind of an obvious revelation, but it just randomly dawned on me while I was driving somewhere and realized the song, as upbeat as it sounds, is a lot harsher and angrier than I originally thought.  I like it a little more now.

Grammys, Music

Early 2016 Grammy Predictions

I was out biking this morning as usual, listening to my biking playlist on shuffle.  Rachel Platten’s song “Fight Song” came on, and I started to think about how great that song is.  It just has such passion and a ring of freedom, and I wondered if it would be nominated for any Grammys the coming year.  I know the Grammys are months away, but the entry period is ending in September, so I was thinking about which songs/artists will get nominations in December.  While reflecting on all that, there are some definite contenders that seem sure to get nominated.

I’m not sure if Rachel Platten will get any nominations.  I know she deserves it and I’d be a proud fan to see her there, but the only categories I think she could qualify for are Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Pop Solo Performance (all for “Fight Song”).  My gut is telling me she won’t get nominated (I’m not really sure why, I just have a feeling), but my head thinks that she deserves at least a nod for Song of the Year as the song is so well written musically and lyrically.  Plus it has a great, timeless message (like last year’s nominee “Shake it Off,” which deserved those Grammys…).  But, there were so many great songs this year by other, more-known artists, and while I think fame shouldn’t be a judging factor, I sometimes feel these awards shows are slightly biased and political.  Then again, none of the music blogs I saw (except mine) thought Meghan Trainor had a chance for either of her Grammy nominations last year for “All About That Bass,” and a lot of people were shocked.  So, you never know.

Anyway, I wanted to kind of make note of which artists I think are most likely to get nominated so far.  Again, it’s early and probably too soon to call, but it’s fun for me:

Taylor Swift:  With out a doubt, Taylor Swift will be nominated for several awards, especially Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album for 1989.  In all sincerity, 1989 is by far one of the best albums put out in a decade and is so cohesively and thematically well done it should be no surprise that it will get nominations.  I also feel Swift has a chance again this year to pick up a nomination for Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Pop Solo Performance, though I’m not quite sure which song.  I totally thought “Blank Space” could be nominated for Record of the Year, but with the recent success of “Bad Blood (feat. Kendrick Lamar),” I think that could be nominated.  I also think she could get her first nomination for Best Music Video, again either for “Blank Space” or “Bad Blood.”  I think she has a better shot at it being for “Bad Blood” since it has such a strong theme of feminism; “Blank Space,” I believe is Swift’s most viewed music video on Youtube/Vevo, so that may be nominated over “Bad Blood.”  Similarly, “Bad Blood” could be nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance (or Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, depending on how they categorize it…I mean, it’s a pop song, but Kendrick Lamar does have a fair amount of rapping and I’m not sure of the official rule).  Anyway, I’m not sure about the song/video categories, but I’m almost certain that 1989 will get those two album nominations.  If not, then I’m boycotting the Grammys because it seriously deserves it.

Meghan Trainor: While Meghan Trainor was a surprise at last year’s Grammys, I think she quite honestly deserves a Best New Artist nomination.  She couldn’t qualify last year because her “significant work” (aka Title) was not released during the period.  Since Trainor has really incorporated a lot of different twists into her music and defined pop music in a new way, she definitely deserves some sort of nomination.  I also think she could get nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album for Title because her vocal work is incredible on that album.  There is the possibility she could get nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for her duet with John Legend “Like I’m Gonna Lose You.”  I doubt “Lips Are Movin,'” her follow up hit to “All About That Bass” will get any nominations despite it being a great song, but there is always the possibility it could get a Best Pop Solo Performance, Song of the Year, and/or Record of the Year nomination.

Mark Ronson:  Who can forget “Uptown Funk.”  Literally, every radio station in my area played it non-stop for like four months.  So, I think “Uptown Funk” with Bruno Mars could get nominated for Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.

Wiz Khalifa: “See You Again” was such a huge anthem this year that it definitely deserves nods in Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and possibly Best Pop Duo/Group Performance (or Best Rap/Sung Collaboration…again, I’m not sure how they define that).  It also could be nominated for Best Song Written for a Visual Media because I believe it was written for Furious 7.

Kendrick Lamar: To Pimp a Butterfly was another huge album this past year, and I think Kendrick Lamar will be nominated for Best Rap Album, and quite possibly Album of the Year again.

The Weeknd:  Undoubtedly the Weeknd had an incredible year with the release of his massive hits “Earned It,” “Can’t Feel My Face,” and “The Hills,” as well has album Beauty Behind the Madness.  His works definitely makes him a contender for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album (or whatever genre they categorize his album) for Beauty Behind the Madness, and possibly Song and Record of the Year for either “Can’t Feel My Face” or “The Hills.”  I personally think he’ll get the nomination for “Can’t Feel My Face” for Record of the Year and has a good shot at winning it.  I also think he could perhaps get a nod (and maybe win) Best New Artist, but I don’t know if he qualifies.  Best New Artist is one of those categories that I’m not sure how the Grammys defines the qualifications.  It’s supposed to be an artist who releases a breakthrough album that establishes the artist during the Grammy period, like the Weeknd seemed to do, although he did have a big debut with his first album Kiss Land.    However, Ed Sheehan released “The A Team” and was nominated for Song of the Year a couples years ago and then the following year after that nomination he was nominated for Best New Artist, even though the prior year would have been the year he “established” himself.  There have been other instances like that were it doesn’t quite add up.  But, I definitely think the Weeknd should fit that category.

 

Anyway, those are the thoughts that I had while biking this morning, and I just wanted to put them out there…if I have anymore brainwaves, I’ll add to the list.  Again, take this all with a grain of salt because I’m getting way ahead of myself and you never really know who will get nominated.  Although, I’d like to point out that I predicted all the nominees last year for Record of the Year (and I was pretty spot on with the others, but Record of the Year was the only category I guessed them all right).

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Songs Written By Meghan Trainor

Meghan Trainor got her start by writing songs at a young age.  I read that when she left school, she had decided to focus a career in songwriting and publishing, not thinking she could fit the stereotypical role of a pop star.  Then when L.A. Reid, a major music executive, heard the demo of “All About That Bass,” and quickly signed her.

Still, Trainor has written many songs and sold them to different artists.  Some are well known, like the fact she wrote for Fifth Harmony and Rascal Flatts.  Others, it took some digging to find.  So, I created a playlist of songs that Meghan Trainor wrote or cowrote for other artists.  Someone of them you can prominently hear the ukelele and picture Trainor singing them (and I think they’d sound better if she sang them).  Others, I’m not so sure she wrote (like the dance song “Replay”), but according to her music publishing company’s website, she wrote them…

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SUNSHINE FEVER

I apologize for the lack of updates over the week, it’s finally warm and beautiful here in New England and I’ve been using any excuse to stay outside in the sun.  Soaking it up while I can.  Therefore, I’ve decided to post a playlist of songs I think embody this beautiful weather.

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Hide & Seek

It’s been a while since I posted a playlist, and I’m not entirely sure anyone has actually listened to any of them besides myself, but I thought it be fun to post what kind of stuff I’ve been listening to lately.  When I started tweeting out #PhillipsSongOfTheDay with a song title (it’s been a while, forgive me), I started keeping keeping a list of those songs (which you can peruse here).  It’s been interesting to see how my taste in music/listening patterns have changed over time; it seemed to reflect what I was going through in life.  Recently, I’ve been getting into alternative and some indie rock music (which is something I never thought I’d get into).  I mean, the playlist below doesn’t really portray that because there are still some big pop numbers in there, but I think it does show my slow transition into the alternative taste.