At the young age of 22, singer-songwriter and record producer Meghan Trainor has won a Grammy, achieved Music Business Association’s Breakthrough Artist of the Year, and taken home two Billboard music awards. Trainor is known for “All About That Bass,” but some of her other hit songs include “Lips Are Movin,” “Dear Future Husband,” and “Like I’m Gonna Lose You.”

Trainor has independently released three albums, but her fourth, Title (2015), passed over one million sales in the United States alone and was awarded platinum status by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Keene State College senior Olivia DiLeo said she sees Trainor as another big-time Hollywood figure.

Contributed Photo by Olivia Gallugi

“I love Meghan Trainor’s music. She sings about important issues based on feminism, body image, and female empowerment. It’s cool to hear a contemporary artist singing about things that matter, that we can relate to,” DiLeo said.

DiLeo said she sees Trainor as another Hollywood figure but to KSC student Olivia Gallugi, Trainor is just another childhood friend. Gallugi said the two met when she was in seventh grade. She said she spent her summers in Trainor’s hometown of Nantucket, Massachusetts.

She said that her and Trainor instantly became friends upon meeting, and kept in touch even through the fall and winter seasons.

When asked if Trainor has changed at all with her rising fame.

Gallugi said, “[Trainor] is exactly the same when I see her now, except she has paparazzi following her around. She really hasn’t changed at all – still loves to have a good time. When we see each other we do the same things we always have.”

Gallugi said that she and Trainor try to FaceTime at least once a month, and that they text often.

“We talk like any pair of friends would…about family, guys, our pets and obviously she talks about what’s new in Hollywood too,” Gallugi said.

Gallugi said that she and her roommates would listen to Trainor’s old music when they were first-years.

Contributed Photo by Olivia Gallugi

She said that Trainor’s success is a bit surreal to her, but she said she couldn’t be happier.

A close friend of Gallugi’s, Brianna Laliberte, discussed her experience with Trainor’s rising success and the friendship between Trainor and Gallugi.

“Freshman year Olivia would show me silly videos of her and Meghan singing songs they had written and I remember thinking ‘wow, this girl is good,’” Laliberte said.

Laliberte recounted an occasion when Gallugi was FaceTiming Trainor and she had the chance to say hello.

“It was crazy. I was so star struck. Then again, she’s just another one of Olivia’s friends from home,” Laliberte said.

Gallugi said she has attended every one of Trainor’s concerts in the Boston area. She also said that she has received backstage passes at every event.

“It’s pretty sweet getting the passes to hang out backstage. You meet so many famous people – it can get overwhelming. We always have a great time though,” Gallugi said.

Aryanah Haydu can be contacted at ahaydu@kscequinox.com