Made You Look (Meghan Trainor song)

"Made You Look" is a song by American singer-songwriter Meghan Trainor from her fifth major-label studio album, Takin' It Back (2022). Trainor wrote it with songwriter Sean Douglas and its producer, Federico Vindver. Epic Records released it as the album's second single on October 31, 2022. A doo-wop song that recalls earlier styles of popular music, it was inspired by Trainor's insecurities about body image and encourages listeners to embrace their natural beauty and confidence.

Music critics commented on the flirtatious composition of "Made You Look" and compared it to Trainor's past songs. An online dance challenge set to the song became a trend on video-sharing service TikTok in 2022. In the United States, the song peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Trainor's first top-20 single since "Me Too" (2016). The song reached the top 10 in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam. Its music video, which premiered on Candy Crush Saga in October 2022, features bright colors and cameos by social media influencers. Trainor performed the song on television shows such as The Today Show, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and The Drew Barrymore Show.

Background and release

Meghan Trainor achieved commercial success with her debut major-label studio album, Title (2015), which produced three top-10 singles on the US Billboard Hot 100. She struggled while creating her third album on a label, Treat Myself (2020), rewriting it four times in an attempt to respond to market shifts in the music industry after the preceding singles underperformed. After the song "Title" attained viral popularity on video-sharing service TikTok in 2021, Trainor announced her intention to pivot to its doo-wop sound on her fifth major-label studio album. She stated that the elevated emotions and strength from her pregnancy helped her build trust in her songwriting instincts. TikTok was highly influential on Trainor's creative process for the album, and she began writing material that would resonate with audiences on it. She gained popularity on the platform while regularly sharing clips and other content with influencer Chris Olsen. Trainor released the single "Bad for Me" in June 2022.

Trainor wrote "Made You Look" alongside songwriter Sean Douglas and its producer, Federico Vindver. As part of an exercise, her therapist asked her to look at herself naked for five minutes. This, along with her body image insecurities after pregnancy, inspired the song. Trainor came up with the lines "I'll make you double take / Soon as I walk away / Call up your chiropractor just in case your neck break", as a reference to how her husband, Daryl Sabara, bends his neck to look at her when she leaves a room. Other lyrics were inspired by the things he does to treat her well. Wanting to create another "self-confident banger that [she] always do[es] on [her] albums", Trainor studied the relatability of her song "All About That Bass" (2014) while writing the track.

"Made You Look" was serviced to hot adult contemporary radio stations in the United States, as the second single from Takin' It Back (2022), on October 31, 2022. The song was sent for radio airplay in Italy on November 18, 2022. On December 9, 2022, its a cappella version, featuring guest vocals from Olsen, Scott Hoying, and influencers Elyse Myers and Sri, was released alongside an accompanying music video. "Made You Look" was supported by a Joel Corry remix on December 31, 2022, and its instrumental and sped-up versions in January 2023. On January 27, the song's remix version featuring Kim Petras was released and serviced for radio airplay in Italy. Petras added new ad libs and high notes during her verse on it. She recorded her vocals in Trainor's home studio, and recalled the experience: "I had 'Made You Look' stuck in my head for months, [...] then when I got asked to jump on it, I was really, really excited. I've never worked with an artist who wanted to track me and comp my vocals and do it all together."

Composition and lyrics

"Made You Look" is two minutes and 14 seconds long. Vindver produced, programmed, and engineered the song. He plays the keyboards and percussion, Jesse McGinty plays the baritone saxophone and trombone, and Mike Cordone plays the trumpet. Jeremie Inhaber mixed the song, and Randy Merrill mastered it at Sterling Sound in New York City.

Musically, "Made You Look" is a doo-wop song, which recalls earlier styles of popular music. Vindver incorporated horns into the song's instrumentation to achieve the style. Along with layered harmonies, it prominently features the bass and brass instruments, which Riffs Piper Westrom thought are reminiscent of the sound of Title. "Made You Look" has a call and response hook; Peter Piatkowski of PopMatters described it as a "spiritual sequel" to "All About That Bass" due to their shared "pouty, surly delivery and the girl group arrangement".

The lyrics of "Made You Look" discuss the theme of self-love; Trainor encourages her female listeners to champion their natural beauty and confidence. She namechecks high-end luxury fashion houses, including Gucci and Louis Vuitton, and insists she looks better donning just her hoodie and "hotter when [her] morning hair's a mess". Trainor declares that onlookers would find her walk jaw-dropping and become obsessed with her once they "get a taste"; she also uses the slang term "14-karat cake" to refer to her backside.

Critical reception
Music critics compared "Made You Look" to Trainor's past songs. Writing for Far Out, Tyler Golsen believed it achieved the right balance between nostalgia for her early music and older pop music in general. Although he refused to call "Made You Look" a good song and stated he probably would not listen to it again, he thought it was "certainly [...] a Meghan Trainor song" and praised her branding efforts. AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine cited the song's inclusion of fashion house names as an example of moments on Takin' It Back where her devotion to bringing back Titles spirit means "that the attitude and melody can occasionally seem preserved in amber". Rolling Stone placed it at number 69 on their list of 2022's best songs, and Tomás Mier positively compared it to Trainor's previous work and praised the "unforgettable lyrics and catchy production".

The flirtatious approach of "Made You Look" was discussed by critics. Martina Inchingolo of the Associated Press thought Trainor sounded "loud[er] and sexier" on the song. Writing for Renowned for Sound, Max Akass believed she displayed a "cheeky, flirty attitude" on it, which made for uncomplicated but efficacious pop music. Mier wrote that Petras delivered a "welcome sexy verse" on her remix of "Made You Look".

Commercial performance
"Made You Look" was Trainor's highest-charting single in years, which some media outlets referred to as a "comeback" for her. The song debuted at number 95 on the US Billboard Hot 100 issued for November 5, 2022. It earned 9.3 millions streams in its second tracking week and entered the Streaming Songs chart at number 49, Trainor's first entry since "Me Too" (2016). It peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100, and became her first song to enter its top 40 also since "Me Too". "Made You Look" was Trainor's first number-one on the Adult Top 40 chart since "Like I'm Gonna Lose You" (2015). In Canada, "Made You Look" reached number seven on the Canadian Hot 100. The song charted at number two on the UK Singles Chart, and became her first top-10 single since "Marvin Gaye" (2015). It received a Platinum certification in the United Kingdom from the British Phonographic Industry.

In Australia, "Made You Look" peaked at number three and was certified 3× Platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The song reached number two in New Zealand and earned a Platinum certification from Recorded Music NZ. It became Trainor's first top-10 single on the Billboard Global 200, charting at number six. Elsewhere, "Made You Look" peaked within the top 10, at number two in Singapore, number three in Belgium, Iceland, and Ireland, number five in Vietnam, number six in Latvia, number seven in Norway, and number eight in Malaysia. The song also charted at number 11 in Hungary, number 13 in Croatia and the Netherlands, number 15 in Paraguay, number 16 in Austria, and number 19 in Switzerland. It received a Platinum certification in Norway, Poland, and  Switzerland, and Gold in Austria, Denmark, Italy, Portugal, and Sweden.

Music video and promotion
The music video for "Made You Look" was released on October 20, 2022, exclusive to Candy Crush Saga for 24 hours, followed by a wide release the following day. Trainor stated that she wanted to achieve a superior and more saturated version of the video for "All About That Bass" by employing vivid and ebullient colors in it. It depicts her showing outfits at a press conference, driving in a car, and dancing in a room. Cameos include TikTok influencers Hoying, JoJo Siwa, Drew Afualo, and Olsen as dancers, and Sabara as the car driver. An alternate version of the video featuring only Trainor's dance sequence was later released, titled "Made You Look (Again)".

An online dance challenge choreographed by TikTok users Brookie and Jessie set to "Made You Look" became a trend on the platform, following which around two million user-generated videos also used the song. Trainor promoted the song with appearances on several television shows. On October 21, 2022, she performed "Made You Look" live for the first time on The Today Show. Three days later, Trainor reprised the song on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. She sang it as a medley with "Here Comes Santa Claus" for The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration on November 27, 2022. On December 13, 2022, Trainor performed "Made You Look" on The Drew Barrymore Show. She reprised the song during the eighth season of Australian Idol on February 27, 2023.

Credits and personnel
Credits are adapted from the liner notes of Takin' It Back.
Federico Vindver – producer, songwriter, programming, engineering, keyboards, percussion
Meghan Trainor – songwriter
Sean Douglas – songwriter
Jesse McGinty – baritone saxophone, trombone
Mike Cordone – trumpet
Randy Merrill – mastering
Jeremie Inhaber – mixing

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

2022 singles
2022 songs
Body image in popular culture
Doo-wop songs
Epic Records singles
Meghan Trainor songs
Number-one singles in Poland