LOL - Living Out Loud

In the most unusual interview ever, singer Meghan Trainor dishes on love, sex, and how she really feels about her body— all without saying a word.

- Amy Spencer

She’s showing me a photo of her red, inflamed vocal cords on her iPhone. The 23-year-old is on strict vocal rest as she preps for surgery to repair those damaged pipes, meaning we won’t be talking at all today. The operation is set for the same day as the Grammys. Last year, she was just about to accept the award for Best New Artist—now, she’s literally an artist without a voice.

She has an app that will “speak” her texts, but it sounds too stiff for her liking. So instead, we sit at the kitchen table in the Los Angeles home she shares with her two brothers, and Meghan types into the Notes app on her Mac, the words in a huge font that her assistant and best friend, Jojo, then reads aloud. Yeah, it’s a little awkward—especially once the conversation turns toward sex (more on that later).

Since signing with Epic Records in 2014, Meghan has staked her claim as one of the good girls of pop music. Her catchy hooks and (mostly) kid-friendly lyrics have garnered her two hit albums and four top-10 singles on the Billboard Hot 100. Her latest, “I’m a Lady,” from the new Smurfs: The Lost Village, is right on brand as a sassy girl-power anthem both moms and daughters can get behind.

Meghan has also become the poster pop star for body positivity. Her career-launching earworm “All About That Bass” celebrates curvy figures. And last year, she pulled her

“Me Too” video from the internet when she realized that her waist had been digitally shrunk in post-production. Still, the Nantucket native admits she doesn’t always practice the self-love that she preaches.