Tour talk: Meghan Trainor’s biggest tour to date is sold out at Madison Square Garden, goes to the forum

Meghan Trainor never imagined she’d be headlining Madison Square Garden alone. In fact, before her appearance on The Timeless Tour, she wasn’t sure if she would ever take the stage for a full-fledged tour again. After completing each of her previous tours, Trainor had to undergo neck surgery and remained off the road for almost eight years.

When talk of returning to the stage arose, she agreed. In March, she announced a June release date for her new album. Timelessand that their first tour in seven years would begin in September. Trainor admits she wasn’t sure whether to headline Madison Square Garden or the Forum because she didn’t think she could sell out the arenas, and she made that point onstage during her sold-out show on June 25th September at MSG.

“I never thought I would play there,” Trainor said Pollstar before the MSG show. “I’m excited to play such a huge venue and hopefully see it sell out. I’m going to cry all night – my goal is not to cry tears of joy all night because I’m not Beyoncé, I can’t sing beautifully when I cry. I’m also wearing an outfit made entirely by Sally LaPointe, which I don’t believe because she’s such an icon. I feel like Beyoncé and I’m going to look so good, and when you look good, you feel good.”

As they entered Madison Square Garden on September 25, countless Megatronz (fans ranging from young children to their elderly parents) were decked out in royal blue sequins, in keeping with the theme of Trainor’s new album. The arena sold out early, allowing a nearly full audience to sing along to special guests Chris Olsen, Paul Russell, and Natasha Bedingfield (who made sure to perform hits “Pocketful of Sunshine” and “Unwritten”). Trainor’s brother Ryan introduced his sister and queued up Chappell Roan’s “Hot To Go!” and “Pink Pony Club” and Olivia Rodrigo’s “Bad idea, right?” before Trainor took the stage.

Her three-year-old son, Riley, introduced “The Timeless Tour” as Trainor walked on stage and toward the elevator in a royal blue sequin bodysuit, blue tights and blue boots. With her soaring voice and soulful phrasing, Trainor began with “Mother” and then dived into “Don’t I Make It Look Easy” with her dancers. Trainor’s other brother, Justin, prepared the music for this tour so that Trainor could have eight dancers instead of a band. On stage, she thanks him for working behind the scenes to ensure her vision could come to life, and she notes that her entire family is involved in the tour.

Trainor and her team, which includes her managers Tommy Bruce and Sali Kharazi of Full Stop Management, solidified the path earlier this year. Kharazi praised Trainor as the kind of artist who gives her 120%, whether it’s a friend, “a good cause or something she can put her heart into.” Kharazi adds, “I think part of our ability to do all the things we’ve done is because she rarely says no when someone really needs her. We built that relationship with the Forum, we built that relationship with MSG. She is the person you come into contact with and will always have a good experience. She will always be kind to you. She always takes a selfie with you or for your child or sends a video for your child and says his name. In a way, it’s a testament to how good a person she is that people are willing to postpone some things.”

Towards the end of the show, fans at Madison Square Garden were surprised by Paris Hilton’s performance. The iconic socialite took the stage in her own sequined silver outfit.

“We have a song together, ‘Chasin,’ so we’re going to perform it for the first time ever,” Trainor says. “Then we sing (Hilton’s 2006 song) ‘Stars Are Blind,’ which would make me cry and vomit because I grew up listening to that song. I can’t believe I’m singing it with her now. Nothing feels real, everything is a dream. She is the hardest working mother I have ever met, she inspires me to keep going.”

While the younger audience was less familiar with Hilton, the parents and older fans in attendance were blown away. As Hilton left the stage, she made sure to say her classic catchphrase: “That’s hot.”

The setlist included songs from Trainor’s new album such as “Criminals” (which recently gained popularity on the TV show “The Perfect Couple”) as well as classic hits “About That Bass,” “Dear Future Husband” and “Me Zu.” The show ended with “Made You Look,” which featured Trainor blowing confetti across the Madison Square Garden floor.