Meghan Trainor Debut Album Enters Billboard Top 200 at #1

Epic Records global superstar Meghan Trainor explodes to #1 on the Billboard Top 200 with her critically acclaimed debut album "Title" and takes over the top spot on dozens of charts around the world.

With first week sales of 237,511 units, "Title," containing her megahit "All About That Bass," ranks as the biggest-selling debut for a female artist's first full-length album in more than five years, and the biggest-selling debut for a solo artist's first full-length album in more than three years. "Title" has dominated iTunes Overall and Pop album charts in the U.S. at #1 since its release on January 13, with #1 peaks reported from 67 countries worldwide.

"In the year that I have known and worked with Meghan," said Antonio 'L.A.' Reid, Chairman and CEO, Epic Records, "I've been consistently amazed at the depth of her talent, and the incredible craft that she displays in her songwriting and effervescent performances. The success of her Epic debut album 'Title' should come as no surprise. Meghan has tapped into a positive, infectious groove that cuts across just about every genre that exists in music today."

On January 14, Trainor took the stage for the third time on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," followed on January 15 with a performance on "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon" for a second time. Trainor's career-defining single "All About That Bass" has been nominated for Record Of the Year and Song Of the Year at the 55th annual Grammy Awards, airing February 8 on CBS. Three days later on February 11, Trainor's 17-city That Bass Tour of North America opens at the Vogue Theatre in Vancouver, with every date sold-out in advance.

Early critical reaction to "Title" was unanimously positive, with Rolling Stone magazine hailing her "sass and self-empowerment," and People proclaiming "she's an It girl with staying power." The New York Times profiled Trainor with references to Amy Winehouse, Adele and Iggy Azalea, while Entertainment Weekly awarded the "Title" album an A-, declaring "right now, no pop star is better than this 21-year-old singer, songwriter, and producer at playing the sassy best friend." Billboard summed up, "You can't miss this young artist's skill with melodic and rhythmic hooks... along with her fluid, flexible voice."

"Title" is buoyed by "All About That Bass," Trainor's phenomenal two-time Grammy-nominated debut single, which spent eight weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and has been certified six-times RIAA platinum in the U.S. alone. The song has worked its way into pop culture with numerous cover versions and homages, including NBC's "Saturday Night Live" and "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon" (with collective YouTube views of more than 40 million).

Globally, "All About That Bass" has hit #1 in 58 countries, generated more than 10 million downloads, over 275 million streams, and over half a billion YouTube views to date. The follow-up single "Lips Are Movin" has been certified RIAA double platinum, has reached the top five on the Billboard Hot 100, top ten at top 40 radio, has over 100 million video views and still climbing all charts. Meanwhile, "Dear Future Husband" has passed the RIAA gold mark (an instant-grat track from iTunes pre-release orders of "Title").

A Massachusetts native, Trainor grew up on Nantucket island where, starting at age 11, she was influenced by the early sounds of her father's record collection, from Frank Sinatra to Ray Charles and James Brown, jazz, doo-wop, and R&B. When she began to show an aptitude for songwriting in her teens, her father got her a laptop with GarageBand software, and by age 13 she was producing her own tracks.

After self-releasing two albums, she landed a publishing deal at 18. But instead of accepting the full scholarship offered by Boston's prestigious Berklee College of Music, she began flying back and forth between her home and Los Angeles. There she teamed up with producers and artists on numerous songwriting sessions, which yielded songs for artists like Rascal Flatts and Hunter Hayes.

One of Trainor's sessions was with Grammy-nominated producer and songwriter Kevin Kadish (credits: Miley Cyrus, Jason Mraz, others), and the two came up with "All About That Bass" in a fast 40 minutes. In February 2014, Trainor found herself auditioning (with a ukulele) for Epic Records Chairman and CEO Antonio 'L.A.' Reid, who recognized her talent immediately and signed her on the spot.

"All About That Bass" hit the streets as her Epic debut in June, and went on to become one of the biggest-selling singles in pop history, six-times RIAA platinum in the U.S., topping charts in nearly 60 countries. In December, while on-board the Jingle Ball Tour, Trainor's 21st birthday was celebrated at the show in Tampa, with Nick Jonas leading 20,000 people as they sang "Happy Birthday" to her.