Title (Meghan Trainor album)


Title is the debut major-label studio album by American singer-songwriter Meghan Trainor. The album was released on January 9, 2015, by Epic Records and replaced Trainor's 2014 extended play with the same name on the iTunes Store. Its songs were mostly co-written and co-composed by Trainor and Kevin Kadish, and produced by Kadish. Other artists who collaborated on the album include Chris Gelbuda, Jesse Frasure, John Legend and Shy Carter. Musically, Title was inspired by Trainor's love for throwback style records, and music from the 1950s and 1960s. She combined different musical genres, including Caribbean, doo-wop, hip hop, soca and pop, for the album's songs.
The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with sales of 238,000 album-equivalent units, of which 195,000 were pure album sales. It also peaked at number one in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Scotland, and the United Kingdom. Title became Epic's first number one album since Michael Jackson's The Essential Michael Jackson to enter at the top of the Australian chart. The album was preceded by two commercially successful singles. "All About That Bass", released as the album's lead single on June 30, 2014, topped the US Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks and the UK Singles Chart for four. The song peaked at number one in 58 countries and entered the list of best-selling singles.
The second single from the album "Lips Are Movin" was released on October 21, 2014; it was Trainor's second consecutive top-five single and peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100. The album's third single "Dear Future Husband" peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100. The fourth single "Like I'm Gonna Lose You", which features John Legend, was released on June 23, 2015, and peaked at number 8 on the Hot 100. Trainor promoted Title through a series of public appearances, televised live performances and the Jingle Ball Tour 2014.
Title was promoted through two 2015 concert tours; That Bass Tour and MTrain Tour. The album sold over one million copies in the United States by the end of 2015 and Trainor won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards. According to IFPI, Title was the ninth best-selling album of 2015 worldwide with sales of 1.8 million copies. It was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America in September 2016.

Background

initially released three albums; Meghan Trainor, I'll Sing with You and Only 17, which were all deleted in the build-up to the release of Title. In July 2014, Trainor said she planned to complete the album by early fall. By mid-August, the record was thought to have been completed, but Trainor told USA Today a song that was written in eight minutes was to be recorded for the album the same day. On August 30, 2014, Trainor told Jim Sullivan of the Cape Cod Times Title would be released in November or December 2014. In an interview with Billboard on September 21, 2014, however, Trainor stated that the album was "pretty much done" and that she had one more song left to complete. She also said, "I'm saving huge singles for ."
In October 2014, after Trainor took a two-month break because polyps were developing on her vocal cords, Kevin Kadish used demo vocal takes Trainor had recorded as guides. Trainor felt discouraged after her break; she told USA Today, "Kevin would calm me down, we'd dim the lights, so I wouldn't get frustrated". Some of the album's material was recorded while Trainor laid on a bed Kadish made in the studio. In an interview with Stacy Lambe of Out, Trainor said, "First album, you show them what you can do and then the second album, you can do whatever you want. And that's what I'm gonna do." Trainor announced on October 14, 2014, that Title contains a country song with production consisting entirely of her ukulele melody and that she was searching for a country artist to feature on the track.

Writing and inspiration

According to Trainor, Title was developed as a "very honest" album for all ages and its writing reflects on the changes in her life and artistic process. The singer intended the album to be a source of empowerment for young people; she wished she had written some of the songs before she attended high school. The album's sound was inspired by Trainor's love for throwback style records, and the music of the 1950s and 1960s eras in music. She created the album's sound by combining different musical genres, including: Caribbean, doo-wop, hip hop, soca and pop. The record was influenced by the American group Fugees.
Trainor composed "All About That Bass" when she was an independent recording artist. She "shopped" the song around at various record labels and offered it to numerous artists, including Beyoncé, all of whom rejected it. Trainor, however, was signed to Epic Records by chairman L.A. Reid after she performed the song for him in February 2014. Reid suggested the song's demo should remain as the final version after additional audio mastering. "All About That Bass" was inspired by Bruno Mars' "Just the Way You Are" and The Chordettes' "Lollipop". When Times Nolan Feeney asked Trainor what she wanted listeners to hear on Title, Trainor said, "I want to help myself. I want to make sure guys take me on a date and treat me right because I didn't do that in the past. I want to love my body more. I just hope younger girls love themselves more, and younger people in general ..." "Dear Future Husband" was inspired by Trainor's love of harmonies and a joke she made with her father, in which she said her future husband "is out there somewhere, chilling". With the track, Trainor wanted to convey that women should be treated better by their partners.
"Like I'm Gonna Lose You" was a demo Trainor composed and recorded "years ago" that was excluded from the album's initial track listing. Trainor's uncle, however, insisted her management listen to the track. Upon hearing it, Trainor's manager started crying and said it had to appear on Title. Trainor then developed and produced the final version of "Like I'm Gonna Lose You" with a friend and sent it to American singer John Legend, who had the same management as Trainor. Legend replied, "I love this, I want to be a part of it", and later appeared on the track as a featured artist. Trainor felt the album's title track showcased her artistic style and said, "I loved that 'Title' showed a little Caribbean drum before the chorus and then, like, a rap bridge that was, like … totally different sound". She described it as "call me your girlfriend, I'm sick of being your boo thing, so call me your girlfriend and give me that title". "Lips Are Movin" was written in eight minutes; it was inspired by a situation in which she caught one of her label colleagues lying and American singer Sara Bareilles' "Love Song". She altered the song's subject to infidelity so her listeners could relate to it more. At the time of the track's development, Trainor reflected on her previous romantic relationship in which she was cheated on and her then-boyfriend's dismissal of her aspirations to become a pop star.

Composition

Music and lyrics

Title has a predominantly doo-wop, pop, blue-eyed soul and R&B sound. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote that Title is a balance of old-fashioned girl-group pop and old-school hip hop. It contains throwback-style, three-part harmonies and handclaps, finger-clicks, acoustic bass, bubblegum pop melodies, and reggae and soca riddims. It features Trainor performing in a style reminiscent of musical theater and combining rapped verses with cabaret choruses. According to Jim Farber of the New York Daily News, some tracks on the record have influences of Caribbean music that were inspired by Trainor's Tobago-born uncle and Millie Small's song "My Boy Lollipop". Farber also wrote that Title roots itself in the same style of its preceding singles "All About That Bass" and "Lips Are Movin", and recalls "girl groups in all their glory".
Rolling Stone described Trainor's vocals on the record as "torch-y", "tangy" and reminiscent of the work of singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse. The album's lyrical content deals with contemporary female empowerment, self-respect and self-awareness. It uses the opposing themes of the individual versus society, modernity versus tradition and dependence versus independence. Paul de Barros of The Seattle Times wrote that the album contains adult themes with "occasionally salty language". According to Bryanna Cappadona of Boston, Trainor portrays a "bossy, egocentric and sexually candid" personality on the record. Helen Brown of The Daily Telegraph said "Trainor tackles 'complicated' relationships and drunken one-night stands with perma-perkiness" on Title, while Tshepo Mokoena of The Guardian wrote that the record serves as a testament to Trainor's lack of self-identification as a feminist.

Songs

The album opens with a 24-second interlude titled "The Best Part", which is about Trainor's love of songwriting. Carl Wilson of Billboard wrote that it is reminiscent of The Chordettes' song "Mr. Sandman". A bubblegum-pop and doo-wop song, "All About That Bass" contains elements from several genres; R&B hip hop, tropical, country and rock and roll. It has an earworm hook, early 1960s soul-pop groove, and according to Chris Molanphy of Slate, a "scatting tempo and shimmying melody". Trainor's vocals on the track were likened to the works of 1960s singers Betty Everett, Doris Day, Eydie Gormé and Rosemary Clooney. Lyrically, "All About That Bass" serves as a callout for the audience to embrace their inner beauty, and to promote positive body imagery and self-acceptance. The words "treble" and "bass" in the song act as metaphors for women's body mass, and the lyric "I'm bringing booty back" references Justin Timberlake's "SexyBack". "Dear Future Husband" is a doo-wop song, and a throwback to "boyfriend-obsessed" 1960s bubblegum pop. It features a series of production slap-beats, a rock-inspired drum track, piano and brass instrumentation. The song's lyrics include a list of factors Trainor's love interests should be aware of before proposing to her. It has a melody similar to those of 1961 songs "Runaround Sue" by Dion and "Quarter to Three" by Gary U.S. Bonds.
The album's fourth track "Close Your Eyes" is a modern, slow, dance ballad. It delivers a "cornier take" on the alternative-beauty theme of "All About That Bass", reinforcing her body image insecurities from the latter. The song is backed by an acoustic guitar and violin, which shift focus to Trainor's nuanced, soulful vocals. Vocals by Kadish singing the lyric "Sh-sh-show them what's beautiful" are included after each chorus. The track's style is reminiscent of the works of Italian-American duo Santo & Johnny. "3am" is a "honey-voiced", heartfelt ballad that serves as a drunk dialing come-on, which the singer later regrets. While most of Title portrays Trainor as confident, "3am" is afflicted with insecurity and its lyrics imply she succumbs to an ex-boyfriend despite her independent woman morale. According to Marc Hirsh of The Boston Globe, "3am" is a "quieter and more vulnerable, racked with self-doubt that can't just be sung away with a good pep talk in the mirror". Piet Levy of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said the track is "a rare departure into serious, sad territory" for Trainor.
"Like I'm Gonna Lose You" is a duet between Trainor and John Legend; it is a subdued, Motown, boilerplate ballad, and "tender love song" that serves as a change of tempo from the album's preceding tracks. The song is about loving someone out of fear of losing them. Sims wrote that the track gives "Trainor's vocals the main stage", while Legend's vocal tone was described as "sincere". Rolling Stone compared the ballad to duets by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell. "Bang Dem Sticks", a raucous and suggestive song, contains a more ribald theme than the preceding tracks; its lyrics describe Trainor's attraction to drummers. The song has a simple percussion rhythm, a combination of horn and drum instrumentation, and features Trainor rapping in a Southern American patois. Capadonna wrote that the song has "the pushiest message" on the album.
"Walkashame" thematically ties in with the album's fifth song "3am", both of which describe romantic missteps and self-awareness. It is a comical track that includes a verse rapped by Trainor and deals with the subject of hangovers. The track's lyrics portray Trainor expressing embarrassment while defending a story about someone going home nonchalantly after an unintended one-night stand. Melanie J. Sims of Associated Press wrote that the track portrayed Trainor as "the funny girl-next-door". The record's title track is an upbeat song that blends horns and background vocals with ukulele folk-pop and island percussion morphed into a programmed beat. It contains a ska-influenced bridge, handclaps and subtle, modern effects. Trainor uses an assertive throwback aural tone on the song, whose lyrics depict her demanding her lover name the status of relationship. Christina Garibaldi of MTV News wrote that the song serves as a lesson for women to disregard friends-with-benefits relationships.
"What If I", a "dreamy", 1950s-style, string-arranged ballad, mulls over the dangers of first-date sex and echoes the personal sentiment of the 1960 song "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" by The Shirelles. The track's string arrangement was compared to the works of Etta James and The Skyliners' song "Since I Don't Have You". The standard edition's closing track "Lips Are Movin" is a bubblegum pop, doo-wop song that contains influences of Motown bounce, music of 1945, and hip hop. It has a half-sung, half-rapped format, a retro-soul melody and beat, and a percussion-heavy arrangement. Lyrically, the song rebukes an unfaithful, dissembling lover while asserting Trainor's physical assets. It shares the relationship-misstep themes of previous tracks "3am" and "Walkashame". Musically, the song is reminiscent of the album's second track "All About That Bass", which it references in its lyrics. Erlewine wrote that it recalls "Amy Winehouse's snazzy new-millennial revival".
"No Good for You" contains elements of ska, which Billboard said recall the works of Lily Allen. Like the deluxe edition's final track "Credit", the song is about Trainor's opinions of a troublesome man. "Mr. Almost" and "My Selfish Heart" are about being in an unhealthy romantic relationship. In "Credit", Trainor questions an ex-lover's new girlfriend about her boyfriend's positive traits and asks his new girlfriend to give "credit where it's due". Garibaldi wrote that in the song Trainor speaks of how she made her ex-boyfriend "cool" and "gave him swag". "I'll Be Home", a seasonal ballad that she wrote and produced alone, appeared on the Japanese edition of the album.

Release

An eponymous extended play featuring "All About That Bass", "Dear Future Husband", "Close Your Eyes" and "Title" was released on CD and digital download formats on September 9, 2014. On September 24, 2014, Trainor announced at the IHeartRadio Music Festival that John Legend would feature on the album, after stating in August that the collaboration was a possibility. An "All About That Bass" EP identical to the Title EP was released in Austria, Germany and Switzerland on October 3, 2014. The same day, in an interview with CFTR, the singer announced two more titles from the album; "Walkashame" and "3am". The release of Title was announced on October 20, 2014, and its pre-order replaced the Title EP on iTunes Stores the same day because it included all four tracks on the EP. The EP, however, was not replaced on CD format. All four tracks from the Title EP and "Lips Are Movin" were released as digital "instant grats" from the album pre-order. On January 9, 2015, Title was released. A special edition version of the album was released on November 20, 2015, everywhere except North America. The bonus DVD that accompanied this version included the music videos for "Title", "All About That Bass", "Dear Future Husband" and "Like I'm Gonna Lose You", and Behind the Scenes videos for the latter three.

Promotion

Trainor promoted Title with a series of public appearances and televised live performances. She performed "All About That Bass" as a duet with American singer Miranda Lambert at the Country Music Association Awards on November 5, 2014. Whitney Self of Country Music Television wrote that the pair's rendition was "one of the most talked-about performances among the mainstream media". Following the performance at the ceremony, American singer Brad Paisley told Trainor he felt she belonged in country music. Trainor then performed "Lips Are Movin" live on NBC's Today. She sang a medley of "All About That Bass" and "Lips Are Movin" on the final installment of the nineteenth season of the American television series Dancing with the Stars on November 26. She also performed tracks from Title as part of her set for the Jingle Ball Tour 2014.
On December 13, Trainor performed "All About That Bass" live on the final installment of the eleventh series of The X Factor UK, with finalists Andrea Faustini, Fleur East and Ben Haenow. On December 17, Trainor performed "Lips Are Movin" on the seventh season finale of the American television series The Voice. Trainor then performed "All About That Bass" and "Lips Are Movin" during Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve. She reprised "Lips Are Movin" in a live performance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on January 14, 2015. Trainor then played an acoustic ukulele rendition of the track on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on January 15. In the United Kingdom, Trainor appeared on This Morning for an interview and performance of "Lips Are Movin" on January 19. She then performed "Lips Are Movin" for BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge on January 20.
The album's first supporting concert tour, That Bass Tour, was announced on November 3, 2014; it consisted of 19 shows in North America with Australian band Sheppard as its opening act. On January 9, 2015, two shows in Australia were announced. Four concerts in the UK were then announced on January 19. The tour began on February 11, 2015, in Vancouver and concluded on June 4, 2015, in Milan. Trainor also promoted the album with the MTrain Tour. The remainder of it was canceled on August 11, 2015, because Trainor suffered a vocal cord hemorrhage.

Singles

"All About That Bass" was released as the album's lead single on June 30, 2014. NBC's Today show named the "Song of the Summer" and played into what Vogue called "The Era of the Big Booty". It earned two nominations at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Song of the Year, which were awarded to Sam Smith's song "Stay with Me". The song's accompanying music video became a viral hit and was Vevo's second-most streamed music video of 2014. The song, however, became a subject of controversy with some critics, who dismissed it for anti-feminism and cultural appropriation. "All About That Bass" topped the Billboard Hot 100 for eight consecutive weeks, exceeding Michael Jackson's seven-week record with "Billie Jean" and "Black or White" to become the longest-running number one by an Epic Records artist. It peaked atop the UK Singles Chart, where it stayed for four consecutive weeks and made British chart history by becoming the first single to enter the top 40 without any contributing physical or digital sales. "All About That Bass" topped the national charts of 58 countries, and went on to sell 11 million units worldwide, becoming one of the best-selling singles. In January 2018, the song was certified diamond in the United States for sales of over 10,000,000 units.
"Lips Are Movin" was released as the album's second single on October 21, 2014, despite initial plans to release "Dear Future Husband" and "Title" as the second single. The song garnered generally favorable reviews from music critics and received several comparisons to "All About That Bass". Its accompanying music video, which was commissioned by Hewlett-Packard, features a variety of social media stars, including dancers Les Twins and Chachi Gonzales. Billboard called the clip a "historic milestone" and "the first music video ever to be created entirely by social media influencers". The song became Trainor's second consecutive top-five single on the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at number four and was certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. The song peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart; it was denied the number one position by Mark Ronson's song "Uptown Funk". "Lips Are Movin" also reached the top 10 in many other countries, including: Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, and New Zealand.
"Dear Future Husband" was released as the third single from the album. It was released to mainstream radio in the United States on March 17, 2015. On April 26, 2015, it was released in the United Kingdom, where it peaked at number 20. It peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the RIAA certified it certified triple platinum for sales of over 3,000,000 units. Its music video attracted criticism and accusations of sexism.
"Like I'm Gonna Lose You" featuring John Legend was released as the fourth single from the album; it was released to mainstream radio in the United States on June 23, 2015. Legend also appeared in the music video, which features them singing amid candlelight in a darkened building as it rains outside. It peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100, topped the Australian singles chart for four consecutive weeks and the New Zealand singles chart for three weeks. The RIAA certified the song quadruple platinum for sales of over 4,000,000 units.

Critical reception

Title received mixed reviews from critics. In a positive review, Melissa Maerz of Entertainment Weekly stated that the album "will endear equally to grandmas and the vintage-loving kids who borrow their cardigans" and called it "real-girl pop with massive charm". Maerz also wrote that the record would boost Trainor's popularity as an artist. Rolling Stone reviewer Chuck Arnold called the album "charmingly old-fashioned" and commended Trainor for co-writing each of its tracks. Title was nominated for International Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2016. It won Favorite Album at the 42nd People's Choice Awards.
Carl Wilson of Billboard stated that the messages in the album's songs " Trainor's fans want and need to hear, but they get repetitive, and the retro musical framing sometimes threatens to make her healthy-values emphasis seem dully quaint and cloying". He added, "Aside from an understandable naïveté, Trainor's weaknesses are her stylistic cherry-picking and her compulsion to appear adorably relatable and socially correct ... her career will live well beyond her breakout year if she can mature into the originality and messiness of her humanity with the same vivaciousness". In a mixed review, Marc Hirsh of The Boston Globe wrote that Title was "for better or for worse, more of the same" as "All About That Bass". Hirsh commended the album's sass and "infectiousness" but felt it was "secondhand" and dismissed Trainor as a "plunderer first and foremost".
New York Daily News journalist Jim Farber complimented Trainor's "large" voice and "witty" writing style on the album. However, Farber said that "over the course of the album she crosses the line from confident to smug", adding, "The fact that she often harmonizes with herself only emphasizes the image of self-containment". The Daily Telegraphs Helen Brown called Title "relentlessly cute" and felt it showcased "plenty of wit, and watertight tunes". However, Brown went on to comment that with the album Trainor offers "as many empty calories as the most vacuous TV talent show contestant", and opined that "she needs to read more self-help than she spouts". Slant Magazine's Alexa Camp opined that the album's "blue-eyed soul is ultimately just pale" and commented: "It's unclear how Trainor's otherwise retro shtick is sustainable, as evidenced by similar artists like Duffy seeing their careers quickly wane. After all, Trainor is no Amy Winehouse, lacking both that singer's raw emotive talent and Back to Blacks ability to infuse her period sound with a distinctly 21st-century sonic and lyrical sophistication." Spin writer Dan Weiss said, "If Title ends up being a gateway for body-conscious adolescents , more power to it", adding, "But if she was actually as clever as her press release and titled the album It Girl With Staying Power, she might actually have staying power".
In a negative review, Mikael Wood of the Los Angeles Times wrote that Title is "cheerful, crafty, yet vexing", and that it "basically offers a dozen variations on 'All About That Bass'". Wood went on to criticize the record's opposing themes as "unexamined" and said Trainor's use of certain vocal patterns are "typically associated with black singers". Tshepo Mokoena of The Guardian said the album is "full of lyrical contradictions" and lacks consistency. Mokoena also wrote, "Come for catchy hooks sung in an affected Southern accent, not for insightful and, intimate songwriting".

Commercial performance

In the United States, Title debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 issued for January 31, 2015, with 238,000 album-equivalent units during its first week, replacing Taylor Swift's album 1989 at the top of the chart. Trainor was the first female act to top the chart with her debut album after Ariana Grande's 2013 release Yours Truly. Keith Caufield of Billboard wrote that Title debut-week tally included 195,000 in "pure sales" and that it was "an impressive figure, considering January is traditionally a sleepy month for big new releases". The album also debuted at number one on the Canadian Albums Chart with first-week sales of 12,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Title debuted at number one on the Australian Albums Chart issued for January 25. It became Epic's first number-one album since Michael Jackson's The Essential Michael Jackson. The album dropped to number five in its second week. Title debuted at number one on the New Zealand Albums Chart on January 19, spending two consecutive weeks there. The album has also achieved success in Europe where it has peaked within the top 10 in Denmark, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. Several songs from the album, despite not being released as singles, reached some charts worldwide. "Title" charted on the Billboard Hot 100 due to strong digital sales of 32,000 downloads, peaking at number 100, and also reached number nine in New Zealand. It was certified gold in both countries. "No Good for You" debuted and peaked at number 91 on the Swedish Singles Chart and remained on the chart for two weeks.
The RIAA certified Title triple platinum in 2016. The album was certified double platinum by Australian Recording Industry Association, indicating sales in excess of 140,000. Music Canada also certified it double platinum, indicating sales in excess of 160,000. Recorded Music NZ certified the album platinum and the Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry certified it double platinum, indicating sales in excess of 15,000 and 40,000 respectively. Title was also certified platinum by British Phonographic Industry, indicating sales in excess of 300,000. In 2015, Title sold 1.8 million copies worldwide, making it the ninth best-selling album worldwide that year.

Track listing

Notes
Personnel adapted from the album's liner notes.
Recording locations
Personnel

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Release history