Bad for Me (Meghan Trainor song)

"Bad for Me"
A man in a jacket and trousers and a blond woman in a pastel-colored gown surrounded by flowers and broken pillars. The yellow text "Bad for Me Meghan Trainor Teddy Swims" stands above them.
Single by Meghan Trainor featuring Teddy Swims
from the album Takin' It Back
ReleasedJune 24, 2022 (2022-06-24)
GenrePop
Length3:33
LabelEpic
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Federico Vindver
Meghan Trainor singles chronology
"Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree"
(2021) 		"Bad for Me"
(2022) 		"Made You Look"
(2022)
Teddy Swims singles chronology
"Dose"
(2022) 		"Bad for Me"
(2022) 		"Better"
(2022)
Music video
"Bad for Me" on YouTube

"Bad for Me" is a song by American singer-songwriter Meghan Trainor, featuring guest vocals from Teddy Swims. Trainor, Stephen Wrabel, Ajay Bhattacharyya, and Federico Vindver wrote it, and Vindver handled the production. The song was released on June 24, 2022, as the lead single from her fifth major-label studio album, Takin' It Back (2022). A pop song with gospel influences, it has lyrics about a toxic relationship with a family member and distancing oneself from them.

"Bad for Me" received generally positive reviews from music critics, who praised its meaningful lyricism and wordplay. The song reached number 15 on the Adult Top 40 chart and number 25 on the Adult Contemporary chart in the United States, and entered digital sales charts in Canada and the United Kingdom. Thom Kerr directed its music video, which depicts Trainor and Swims navigating an illusory set of flowers interspersed with panoramic imagery. They performed the song on television shows in 2022, including Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Late Late Show with James Corden.

Background

Meghan Trainor released two major-label studio albums in 2020: her third, Treat Myself, and her fourth, A Very Trainor Christmas.[1] She struggled while creating the former, rewriting it four times since she was "adapting to what's going on in the music industry" after its preceding singles underperformed.[2] After Trainor's 2014 song "Title" attained viral popularity on video-sharing service TikTok in 2021, she announced her intention to pivot to the doo-wop sound of its 2015 parent album of the same name on her fifth one in May 2022, along with her pregnancy's influence on it.[3] In June 2022, she began teasing a song titled "Bad for Me" as the lead single from the album.[4] Trainor revealed that it is about a toxic relationship, along with the lyrics "Please don't make promises that you can't keep/ Your best intentions end up hurting me/ No matter what, I love you endlessly". She appeared without makeup in the teaser, which Portal Popline's Leonardo Rocha interpreted as emblematic of the lyrics's sincerity.[5][6]

"Bad for Me" was released as a single on June 24, 2022, and features American singer-songwriter Teddy Swims.[7][8][9] Three days later, Epic Records serviced the song to hot adult contemporary radio stations in the United States.[10] An acoustic version, and an EP featuring remixes of it by JTrain, Disco Lines, and Zookëper, were released in August 2022.[11][12]

Composition and lyrics

"Bad for Me" is three minutes and 33 seconds long.[13] Federico Vindver produced, programmed, and engineered the song. He plays the keyboards, guitar, bass, and piano. Jeremie Inhaber mixed it, and Randy Merrill mastered the song at Sterling Sound in New York City.[14] Trainor co-wrote it with Ajay Bhattacharyya and Stephen Wrabel, strangers to her at the time.[15]

Musically, "Bad for Me" is a pop song with gospel influences; People's Jeff Nelson characterized it as "sad-girl pop".[16][17] The song's instrumentation incorporates a piano and an acoustic six-string guitar.[18] It is about a personal situation Trainor experienced. She stated: "Toxic relationships can be in your family and you can step away from them and it sucks. But it's doable." That night, Daryl Sabara suggested that the song is the right one for Trainor to record as a duet with Swims, who she had wished to collaborate with for a long time. Swims, friends with Bhattacharyya and Wrabel, responded to the proposition: "I would be honored to be part of this", and they recorded it in Trainor's home studio the following week.[15] She considered "Bad for Me" more personal than her other songs as it involved another person; she refused to name the subject, but dispelled the idea it is about her brother Ryan.[16]

Reception

Jacob Uitti of American Songwriter included "Bad for Me" in the magazine's weekly rundown of the best new releases in music: "[The song] ... is a powerful pop masterpiece from the standout songwriter."[19] He added that the song "showcases her knack for lyricism and wordplay and offers yet another reason why she's one of the most sought-after pop artists of the 2020s".[18] PopMatters's Peter Piatkowski cited it as an example of tracks on Takin' It Back (2022) where Trainor delves inside her "resourceful pool of talent" to create something more meaningful: "[It] is a stirring and moving gospel hymn that is a pop masterpiece." He also complimented her vocal chemistry with Swims and its contused lyrics.[20] Writing for Riff, Piper Westrom thought "Bad for Me" was the strongest track on the album, and deviated from what is expected from Trainor, offering a perspective "different from the traditional toxic romantic relationship angle".[21] Stereogum's Rachel Brodsky criticized the song in her review: "I find [Trainor] cringe and cloying on just about every level", and was also negative about Trainor's comment in an interview that it was her "Adele moment".[17]

Commercially, "Bad for Me" reached number 25 on the US Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and number 15 on the US Adult Top 40.[22][23] The song debuted at number 13 on the Digital Song Sales chart.[24] It peaked at number 32 on the Canada Digital Song Sales chart.[25] "Bad for Me" charted at number 19 on the New Zealand Hot Singles chart.[26] The song reached number 57 on the UK Singles Downloads Chart and number 59 on Singles Sales.[27][28]

Promotion

Thom Kerr directed the music video for "Bad for Me", which premiered the same day as the song. In the video, Trainor and Swims navigate an illusory set of flowers interspersed with panoramic imagery; American Songwriter's Tina Benitez-Eves interpreted it as an illustration of the song's lyrics about dissociating from toxic relationships.[29]

Trainor first performed "Bad for Me" live with Swims at Jimmy Kimmel Live! on June 24, 2022.[29] On August 24, 2022, they reprised the song on The Late Late Show with James Corden.[30][31] Trainor sang it on Today on October 21, 2022.[32]

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of Takin' It Back.[14]

Charts

Chart positions for "Bad for Me"
Chart (2022) Peak
position
Canada Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[25] 32
New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)[26] 19
UK Singles Downloads (OCC)[27] 57
UK Singles Sales (OCC)[28] 59
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[22] 25
US Adult Pop Airplay (Billboard)[23] 15
US Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[24] 13

Release history

Release dates and format(s) for "Bad for Me"
Region Date Format(s) Version Label Ref.
Various June 24, 2022
Original Epic [33]
United States June 27, 2022 Hot adult contemporary [10]
Various August 15, 2022
  • Digital download
  • streaming
 Acoustic [11]
August 26, 2022 Remixes [12]

References

  1. ^ Rowley, Glenn (October 7, 2020). "There Are Only 78 Sleeps Until Christmas, So Check Out Meghan Trainor's Two New Festive Tracks". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 28, 2020. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  2. ^ Feeney, Nolan (January 14, 2020). "Pop Music Is Changing, So Meghan Trainor Did Too". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 4, 2020. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  3. ^ Jones, Brian (May 12, 2022). "Meghan Trainor Reveals How She's 'Taking It Back' for Upcoming Album". Pop Culture. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
  4. ^ Dee, Erika (June 15, 2022). "Meghan Trainor New Song 2022: Diss Track on 'Toxic,' 'Therapy-Landing' Relationship?". Music Times. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
  5. ^ Rocha, Leonardo (June 15, 2022). "Meghan Trainor mostra trecho de canção inédita no TikTok". Portal Popline (in Portuguese). Retrieved June 16, 2022.
  6. ^ "Meghan Trainor compartilha trecho de música inédita" (in Portuguese). Terra. June 16, 2022. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
  7. ^ "Meghan Trainor sings about a 'very toxic relationship' in upcoming new single". KQMV. June 9, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  8. ^ "Meghan Trainor sings about a 'very toxic relationship' in upcoming new single". KSTP-FM. June 9, 2022. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
  9. ^ @Meghan_Trainor (June 17, 2022). "#BadForMe ft. @teddyswims 6/24 💖" (Tweet). Retrieved June 17, 2022 – via Twitter.
  10. ^ a b "Hot/Modern/AC > Future Releases". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on June 21, 2022. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  11. ^ a b "Bad For Me (Acoustic) by Meghan Trainor feat. Teddy Swims". Amazon. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
  12. ^ a b "Bad For Me (Remixes) [Explicit] by Meghan Trainor feat. Teddy Swims". Amazon. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
  13. ^ "Bad For Me (feat. Teddy Swims) by Meghan Trainor". Apple Music (US). Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  14. ^ a b Epic Records (2022). Takin' It Back (Media notes). Meghan Trainor.
  15. ^ a b Mier, Tomás (June 22, 2022). "Meghan Trainor Is Confidently 'Takin' It Back' as a New Mom on Upcoming LP". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  16. ^ a b Nelson, Jeff (June 24, 2022). "Meghan Trainor Talks Mom Guilt, Oversharing and Family Drama Behind New Single 'Bad for Me'". People. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
  17. ^ a b Brodsky, Rachel (June 27, 2022). "Conan Gray Still Has Some Growing To Do". Stereogum. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  18. ^ a b Uitti, Jacob (August 16, 2022). "Meghan Trainor Releases New Acoustic Version of 'Bad For Me'". American Songwriter. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  19. ^ Uitti, Jacob (June 24, 2022). "New Song Friday! Hear New Music from Kane Brown, Meghan Trainor, WILLOW, Wolf Alice H.E.R. and More". American Songwriter. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
  20. ^ Piatkowski, Peter (November 14, 2022). "Meghan Trainor Looks Back and Forth With 'Takin' It Back'". PopMatters. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  21. ^ Westrom, Piper (October 31, 2022). "Meghan Trainor still wants to make you dance with 'Takin' It Back'". Riff. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  22. ^ a b "Meghan Trainor Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  23. ^ a b "Meghan Trainor Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved August 30, 2022.
  24. ^ a b "Meghan Trainor Chart History (Digital Song Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
  25. ^ a b "Meghan Trainor Chart History (Canadian Digital Song Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  26. ^ a b "NZ Hot Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. July 4, 2022. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
  27. ^ a b "Official Singles Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
  28. ^ a b "Official Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
  29. ^ a b Benitez-Eves, Tina (June 24, 2022). "Meghan Trainor Owns Motherhood and Matrimony on Upcoming Album 'Takin' It Back'". American Songwriter. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
  30. ^ Wert, Nicole (August 23, 2022). "Meghan Trainor Attempts to Conquer Car Sickness in Hilarious New TikTok". Parade. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  31. ^ "Meghan Trainor performs 'Bad for Me' with Teddy Swims on 'Late Late Show'". United Press International. August 24, 2022. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  32. ^ "Meghan Trainor performs 'Bad For Me' live on Today". Today. October 21, 2022. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
  33. ^ "Bad For Me [Explicit] by Meghan Trainor feat. Teddy Swims". Amazon. Archived from the original on June 24, 2022. Retrieved June 24, 2022.