Hot take: Meghan Trainor should be more famous than she is.

Hear me out.

Over the course of about a decade and six studio albums, Meghan Trainor has promoted a necessary – even urgent, given the ongoing assault on a woman’s right to agency in the United States – narrative of female empowerment, all while never using the F word (hint: it’s “feminism”) in her lyrics. Over the years, she’s talked about feminism and its importance, but it’s in her songs where we see the hype girl all of us need.

In addition, her ear is spectacular. Trainor’s music brings together throwback melodies from the 60s, elements of R&B, and even rhythm patterns from Cuban music, layered with cascades of harmonies, all tied together in a modern, earworm wrapper. She expertly pulls the strings of creative beats and instruments ranging from strings to horns, weaving them with intentionally used isolated vocals, some call and answer with other voices, and full-blown, multi-layered harmonies. I’ve rarely heard any contemporary pop artist focus on the sound of their songs as much as Trainor clearly does. In a way, I find the finished product of her albums almost unbelievable to hear given how each song feels like a rich, vibrant tapestry of so many sounds brought together.

Her latest album, Timeless, reinforces the common themes we’ve heard from her over time: I love me; I know gaslighting when I see it; and I believe in egalitarian relationships. In this review, I focus on her seemingly intentional use of a secondary voice aimed at her core demographic (women) and her pro-woman, pro-self-care messaging.

 Woman up voice

If you’re more than 10 years old, you’ve likely heard “All About That Bass,” a bop of all bops. In addition to the doo-wop feel of the song, which undoubtedly differentiated it (and her) at the time, one of the most notable elements of its sound is the snare-drum like voice Meghan Trainor uses in the chorus and verses. It’s a little raspy, a tad nasal, and unambiguously low in her register. You’ll also recall that when she gets to the pre-chorus (“Yeah my momma she told me, ‘Don’t worry about your size….’”), she switches to a more conventional female singing voice that sounds elegant and maps across a wide range, like any other pop star’s.

(To walk down memory lane, check out her singing “All About That Bass” on the Howard Stern show, with only a ukulele and acoustic guitar accompanying her. I stumbled upon this while watching music videos with my daughter and it further enhanced my appreciation of Trainor’s talent.)

Throughout her work, Trainor has trotted out her percussive voice – which I’m calling her “woman up” voice, as a nod to her song by the same name – when there’s been a big message to convey to her target audience: women who may not feel like they live up to society’s ideals for beauty and may therefore be powerless.

Given the sound of Trainor’s woman up voice – low and almost unnatural – you could consider it a kind of vocal fry, which has been heavily litigated in the court of public opinion as making women seem unserious – even though men use a creaky voice from time to time as well – when in fact they’re trying to assert authority in a setting in which they perceive having little power. Yet for Trainor, her use of the woman up voice is when she does have power, as evidenced by us listening to her songs.

Trainor’s use of her woman up voice appears to be intentional. Using this kind of distinctive element to reach a particular audience – other women – seems like it’s calling upon research linguists have done on how women communicate with each other (link is illustrative of such research, I don’t actually like the conclusions this person draws; see wordslut for a much better take), which may be markedly different than men’s communication patterns in same-sex conversations. When women talk to each other, they may seek to create a more cooperative, collaborative experience, using “hedging” (wielding the oft-maligned word “like,” for example, which may have up to four applications if you can believe it), tag questions, such as “Those fireworks were startling, weren’t they?” and “back-channel” responses like “yeah” and “mhmm” to signal agreement and understanding.  The effect of such language patterns is one of building consensus and partnership, as well as a safe space for women to share dialogue in and participate on a human, emotional level. It’s as if Trainor’s woman up voice is yet another way to effectively reach women.

Going back to the launch of Title, Trainor has wielded her woman up voice to further punctuate her feminist themes and, like a goose calling out navigational directions in the sky, rally other women around a shared goal of feeling confident in who they are.

Consider the story at the core of “All About That Bass”: Here’s a woman who has “all bass” (booty) and “no treble” (smaller breasts, she actually explains this on the Howard Stern show), which is at odds with society’s vision for the ideal woman form. In addition, the broader media landscape routinely markets edited images of what a body should look like for all women to observe and aspire to. At the same time, she has confidence in who she is and what she looks like, and wants her core audience to know they too should feel that way:

I’m bringing booty back

Go ahead and tell them skinny bitches that

No, I’m just playing, I know you think you’re fat

But I’m here to tell you

Every inch of you is perfect from the bottom to the top

On her album Thank You, Trainor pulls out the woman up voice on the song “No,” which is about rightfully rejecting the untoward advances of a man who thinks he can get his way:

All my ladies, listen up

If that boy ain’t giving up

Lick your lips and swing your hips

Girl, all you gotta say is

My name is no, my sign is no, my number is no, uh

Just as she did on “All About That Bass,” Trainor’s prerogative is not only telling her own story, but also signaling to other women that they too can feel empowered to know their worth. When Trainor uses the woman up voice, there’s a call to arms.

On Timeless, Trainor pulls out her woman up voice on the blockbuster feminist anthem, “Rollin’,” one of the best songs on the album. By its title, you might think the “rollin’” she’s doing is cooly driving around town looking good. Once you start listening, you know the only “rollin’” that’s happening is her eyes about some man who’s overconfident and has no receipts:

Another day, another man tryna mansplain somethin’

I see his lips move, but they ain’t sayin’ nothin’, nah

When we get to the pre-chorus, she’s alerting her core female audience that we’re all bound to a ridiculous double standard, and that all the swagger men bring to the table is often transparently baseless:

And when a guy goes hard, he busy

But when a girl pulls up, she bitchy

And if it makes no sense, then you get it

This one is for the girls out there with opinions

Yeah, if you got a fella sayin’ he could do it better

Go on and tell him, tell him (Hey)

I find her use of her woman up voice – as well as her frequent use of back channels like hey, yeah, and uh – to be intriguing and something I’ll continue to listen for in her future albums.

Pro-woman, pro-self-love story

Across her body of work, Trainor is often at her best when she’s writing about the average woman’s experience, allowing her to relate to the vast majority of female listeners.

In addition to “Rollin’” covered above, Trainor offers several other pro-woman, pro-“I love me” songs on Timeless, picking up on themes she’s long been exploring.

On the album’s second track, “Been Like This,” Trainor duets with T-Pain on a song that touches on a woman who’s long been confident in who she is, yet a partner/lover perceives her self-confidence to be suddenly off-putting.

She sings:

Oh, ’cause she’s cute and she’s classy

Thick, bold and sassy

She knows what she do when she moves (When she moves)

I know it’s hard to imagine

But, why you keep asking

Like all this came out of the blue?

This type of unabashed ownership of oneself – even the features that may not live up to society’s ideals – may be somewhat rare. Yet I am reminded of Olivia Rodrigo’s song “Girl I’ve Always Been,” which shares a similar vibe: You chose to initially overlook that I’m a strong, confident woman and now you’re trying to gaslight me. Just as Rodrigo does on her song, Trainor fully pushes back and challenges the lover (and listeners too) to “Put an X by my name if you don’t like me.” The upshot for us? It’s him, not you.

In her hilarious song, “Whoops,” she compels the listener to lean in as the song begins with a barbershop quartet beat-keeping in lieu of a bass, with her layered, harmonized vocals coming in with the chorus to kick off the song. At its core, the song is about standing your ground in a relationship and prioritizing your worth even in the face of losing a partner. In the pre-chorus, she sings:

And she got ’bout half

Of my looks with no class

Now you say, “Come back”

But I think what you really mean is

Whoops, you messed up

For Trainor, centering the self and maintaining one’s basic standards for a partner are more important than holding on to a person who “ran around and then you got caught.” The message to women – one many of us can use to hear – is: Know your worth. You can and will do better.

On “Crushin’” (featuring Lawrence), “I Wanna Thank Me” (featuring Niecy Nash), and “Bestie,” Trainor channels female empowerment as the root of her way of being.

On “I Wanna Thank Me,” she even pulls out her woman up voice to march through the chorus:

I wanna thank me

For lookin’ like this

For workin’ my ass off

Can’t do it like me, y’all wish

I wanna thank me

And kiss myself

I wanna thank me

Right now and nobody else

Honestly, it’s a great reminder for me, and likely you as well. What woman among us couldn’t use a moment to thank herself? Or “crush on herself” as Trainor suggests that we do on “Crushin’”?

On “Bestie,” she shows us the vulnerable side of projecting a self-confident image at times, as she starts the song with this vignette:

Late night when I’m in bed

Got voices in my head

They’ve never been my friends, I, I

I keep on losin’ sleep

Bein’ my enemy

Recognizing that she’s worthy of self-love, she closes the triumphant chorus with:

‘Cause I, I am the only one

Who’s been there since day one

And I ain’t never gon’ leave

I love how simple and catchy this chorus is, especially since it imparts such a profound statement. How many of us have thought of ourselves as “the only one who’s been there since day one”? In addition to imploring women to love themselves, she’s also communicating that you can rely on yourself, as well – whether that means for self-love, judgment, trust, or peace of mind.

On “I Don’t Do Maybe,” Trainor builds a wall-of-sound experience with horns, bass, and Latin flair to underscore her key message: Make up your mind or I’m out of here. She employs the call and answer technique here, as well, isolating her vocals on the verse to eventually build to a layered harmony, for heightened impact.

The chorus goes like this:

I don’t do maybe

Don’t love me just to lead me on

I don’t do maybe

If I ain’t the one, then, bitch, I’m gone

I’m gone, I’m gone

So long, so long, so long (So long)

She asserts her agency and authority in the relationship with this recurring chorus. Trainor also highlights how she wields appropriate power elsewhere in her relationship, including in intimate moments (“’Cause when you’re under me / Don’t make a promise you can’t keep”). The type of does-he-or-doesn’t-he dynamic she explores in this song is one many women who have dated any man ever can identify with, further reinforcing her role as a pro-woman influencer by telling her audience: You don’t have to tolerate this, even if it’s common.

Across these songs, Trainor has given us priceless pearls of wisdom about feeling absolutely confident in and incredible about who we are. To see yourself as amazing is not only okay to do, but essential.

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If you’ve been sleepin’ on Meghan Trainor – I’ve heard she’s polarizing – start with Timeless then work backward in her discography. And make sure you follow her on Instagram to get a glimpse of her life, which feels like the person she puts on the page. She’s often including clips of her personal workouts – something you may not always see from women in the public eye (unless they’re athletes) – as though to say, I put in the work and I’m willing to show you. Which tracks pretty well to the hype girl we know and love from her songs.