Ace of 'Bass': Meghan Trainor pulls video, pushes against negative body image | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
Subscribe

Would you like to subscribe to our newsletter?

Current Conditions Sunny  10.1°C

Ace of 'Bass': Meghan Trainor pulls video, pushes against negative body image

Meghan Trainor, right, and Gary Trainor arrive at the Kids' Choice Awards at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif., in a March 12, 2016, handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Invision, Jordan Strauss
Original Publication Date May 10, 2016 - 8:00 AM

TORONTO - Meghan Trainor's shape is playing a more significant role in her career than she might have planned.

The 22-year-old pop singer, who made her debut with the body image-positive single "All About That Bass" two years ago, yanked her latest music video from YouTube this week after claiming her figure had been digitally thinned without her consent.

"My waist is not that teeny," the singer said in a series of Snapchat videos posted on Monday.

"I didn't approve that video and it went out to the world, so I'm embarrassed."

The incident surrounding Trainor's "Me Too" music video is only the latest is a steady flow of cases where celebrities — mostly women — have been subjected to unapproved nips and tucks with a digital airbrush.

Hollywood star Kate Winslet has eschewed dramatic alterations of her images while Amy Schumer poked fun at body shaming by posting a shot of her nearly nude body, folds and all, on Instagram.

Trainor has now joined the list of women who have been tweaked for fashion.

Her altered figure was first noted by fans, who took to social media to post images of her unrealistic waist in the finale of the video.

She has said that's how she learned of the unauthorized changes, which caused her to immediately demand it be taken down.

An unaltered version of the music video, from the singer's latest album "Thank You," was posted late Tuesday morning.

A few days before the clip premiered online, Trainor told The Canadian Press how pleased she was that her label, Epic Records, hadn't pressured her to lose weight in the lead-up to her second album.

"My thinking was ... is my label going to say: 'All right, the bass is over. Round two — second album, get it together,'" Trainor said in an interview last Friday.

"I've never been approached — by my label, my management, my team, my good friends — (and told) you should start losing weight. I've stayed pretty much the same since high school."

Trainor's "Me Too" video was directed by Hannah Lux Davis, who has produced clips for a number of young female pop stars including Ariana Grande ("Focus") and Demi Lovato ("Cool for the Summer"). Lux Davis and Epic Records did not respond to requests for comment.

Others have been accused of tinkering with Trainor's image, however, including Seventeen magazine. Trainor was featured on the cover of the May issue, but her fans quickly began to question why her arms and head appeared to have been resized.

Seventeen largely ignored their concerns and didn't respond to questions on Tuesday.

Ruby Roxx, a plus-size Vancouver model who monitors body image conversations, says the pressure on photographers and directors can only be positive for society.

"Back in the day it was almost taboo to talk about," she says.

"(Trainor) promotes a message of loving yourself regardless and (it's) especially helping young girls."

Those familiar with the record industry might find it surprising that Trainor's clip weaved its way through the strict approval process that comes with a music video shoot. Typically a video will be signed off by both an artist and their management team before it's released to the public.

Trainor has also been a staunch advocate of realistic body expectations since she burst into the mainstream.

Growing up in a musical family — her father was a music teacher and her uncle a soca performer — Trainor focused on honing her songwriting skills before putting a stronger emphasis on her vocal abilities with a few independently released albums in her late teens.

All of that practice wouldn't prepare her for the massive success of "Bass," which topped both the U.S. and Canadian Billboard charts, and soared to comparable heights in many other countries.

"It had its own world and I was just hanging on for dear life," Trainor says.

Similar popularity met a number of other singles released from her major label debut "Title."

Most of the pressure Trainor feels from label executives these days has more to do with creativity, she says, adding that she longs for the artistic freedom enjoyed by Beyonce.

"Hopefully by round three it'll be a little more like that," Trainor says.

She's not there yet, and on her second album the lead single "No" came to fruition when label head L.A. Reid urged her to leave the doo-wop sounds of her debut album in the dust.

So she delivered him a defiant booty shaker with a beat that recalls the pinnacle of 'N Sync's popularity. Trainor says she thinks "No" will feel "like a slap in the face" to listeners who are expecting her old sound.

Trainor says despite the attention paid to her body she hasn't made any compromises to impress onlookers. Recently she made a pact with herself to frequent the gym.

"I've chosen to work out more," she said.

"I don't get sick when I'm working out and eating healthy."

Follow @dfriend on Twitter.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2016
The Canadian Press

  • Popular kelowna News
View Site in: Desktop | Mobile