Meghan Trainor takes the time to enjoy every moment on the road

Meghan Trainor has been “dreaming” on the Timeless Tour for the past few weeks.

“I’m still trying to recover from Madison Square Garden. That was the best night of my life. “I cried so hard afterward,” the “Whoops” singer shared shortly after the big performance at the end of September. “Then there’s (Denver’s) Red Rocks, which I’ve never been to and I’ll probably cry if I play there. And the (Kia) Forum (in LA), the last show, will make me cry. Chicago will be a big event for me too,” she adds of an Oct. 5 stop at Allstate Arena in Rosemont.

If emotions take over with Trainor, it’s understandable why. Her current amphitheater/arena tour is not only her biggest production to date, but also the singer-songwriter’s first concert tour in seven years, after multiple vocal cord surgeries threatened to jeopardize her future when she was just starting out. The tour also marks the passage of ten years since the release of “All About That Bass” in June 2014, which sold 11 million copies and earned her headliner status.

The modern doo-wop pop hit, released when she was just 20, became an anthem of body positivity and made Trainor a poster child for messages of self-empowerment. The singer-songwriter, who turned 30 last December, admitted she “appreciates it more” now.

“I was afraid that I would always be the ‘bass girl’. And now I’m proud of her. …Every night on tour I ask, “Do you all remember ten years ago when I released this song and you went to No. 1?” This is my way of thanking everyone and remembering That’s why we’re here.”

The Megatronz (the name for Trainor Stans) have followed her ever since, with nearly 30 million members on Spotify and more than 3 billion combined streams of hits like “Made You Look,” “Dear Future Husband” and “Like I’m.” Gonna Lose You” with John Legend. Trainor’s latest album and sixth LP, “Timeless” (released in June), had similar success, buoyed by the self-love number “I Wanna Thank Me,” which includes selections from actress Niecy Nash’s acceptance speech for the 2024 Emmy Awards and two Tracks (“Been Like This” and “Love On Hold”) with T-Pain.

“He is my hero. “I’ve always listened to T-Pain…he’s a god of songwriting in my eyes,” Trainor shared, saying she always wanted to work with the R&B/hip-hop star, but the timing never worked out. “It finally happened for my 30th birthday party. He surprised me… and it was a dream come true.”

But it’s the sleeper hit “Criminals” (in a deluxe edition of “Timeless”) that really turned heads when it was chosen as the theme song for the Netflix series “The Perfect Couple.”

“I was lucky. “All the stars aligned,” Trainor admitted of the opportunity.

Starring Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber and Dakota Fanning, the crime drama is set in Nantucket, Massachusetts, which also happens to be Trainor’s hometown. One of the writers, another local, knew Trainor’s mother Kelli, and a showrunner also knew about the singer’s island roots.

“My publisher Carla said, ‘We have to get this role.’ You’re the Nantucket girl, you gotta have a song for that,” recalled Trainor, whose unreleased track “Criminals” had been lying around for years. “It wasn’t even supposed to be a single and the love for the song is just so much, it’s unbelievable.”

The opening dance number of “The Perfect Couple” (choreographed by Trainor’s girlfriend Charm La’Donna) has also generated a lot of interest in recent weeks. Trainor and her dancers perform it every night on tour, and she has a few tips for fans who want to get involved.

“It’s easier than you think. Take your time. Watch my TikToks and you will learn. And if you mess up, who cares? The whole time I’m just screaming, ‘Hands up!’ So if you’re in doubt, say so.”

But perhaps what’s special is that her husband, actor Daryl Sabara, and two little boys accompany her on her journey.

She takes part in interviews when the boys are asleep, and on days off the family visits local children’s museums and aquariums to make things even more “timeless.”

“I’m obsessed with time and feel like we don’t get enough of it on this planet,” Trainor added. “I’m just trying to be more present in each moment and appreciate what we have.”