Song Review – Caitlyn Smith’s (& Meghan Trainor’s) “Like I’m Gonna Lose You”
Though the recently-crowned mega pop star Meghan Trainor might be seen as the epitome of bubblegum pop to many, her meteoric rise has certainly caused some reverberations in the country music realm. Concerned that she wasn’t thin enough to fit the model of a pop star, Trainor spent her early career as a songwriter. Despite early success in songwriting contests, when she tried to make a move to Los Angeles to pursue songwriting full-time, she couldn’t find the type of collaborators she needed to get her foot in the door.
So Trainor set her sights on Nashville instead where she was more openly welcomed, and when her song “All About That Bass” failed to find a suitor amongst the biggest heavyweights in music like Adele and Beyoncé, she decided to recorded it herself and it became a massive hit. “All About That Bass” is quickly approaching a billion views on YouTube, and everybody that refused to take the young songwriter seriously early in her career is now having severe second thoughts.
Where Nashville songwriter and performer Caitlyn Smith comes into the picture is she was one of the songwriters that was willing to collaborate with Trainor when few others would, and they did so on a song called “Like I’m Gonna Lose You” with another songwriter Justin Weaver. The song appears on Meghan’s Title album as a duet with John Legend, and is slated to be the smash album’s 4th single. Where Trainor’s other recognizable songs are playful and poppy, “Like I’m Gonna Lose You” cuts deep.
Caitlyn Smith has long been a criminally-overlooked talent in Nashville, penning some of the better hits and album cuts for major touring stars, while trying to fit her own career in between. Though she’s already been on the receiving end of some important songwriting credits, it appeared as if her ship would finally come in when her song “Tacoma” was selected by Garth Brooks to be the lead single from his comeback album Man Against Machine. Similar to “I’m Gonna Lose You,” “Tacoma” is more of a soulful song than a country one, but one many country fans won’t complain about it finding its way to their ears.
“Tacoma” was even sent to radio by Garth’s label, and then a last minute audible had “Tacoma” getting switched for “People Loving People” for Garth’s big comeback single. “Mom” was subsequently selected as the second Garth single, though you had the sense it was only a matter of time before “Tacoma” saw the light of day on country radio. Then Sony Nashville CEO Gary Overton resigned his post at Nashville’s biggest label, and now everything is in limbo for Garth and “Tacoma,” and Garth is even saying that with no leadership, there’s no single strategy moving forward. Overton was the guy who now infamously uttered “If you’re not on country radio, you don’t exist”—a very cold assessment for an artist like Caitlyn Smith and others who fight each day to find traction with songs that matter.
But now Caitlyn Smith is in the batter’s box once again with “Like I’m Gonna Lose You,” and it’s a song that could be huge on radio through Meghan Trainor. It’s a shame the avenue couldn’t have been country, especially as the genre continues to struggle to develop female talent and field big songs from female stars.
“I was telling them how I had a terrible nightmare, that I lost my little brother, and I woke up sweating and crying,” Trainor says about writing the song with Smith and Weaver. “I went to go check on him, and he was fine. And I told them what a powerful message that could be in a song.”
It’s not a lack of talent that Nashville suffers from. It’s figuring out how to shuffle the best talent to the front. Like another notable songwriter, Chris Stapleton—who paid his fair share of dues writing for others when he had a voice and a message that could resonate much deeper than what was rising in the mainstream, Caitlyn Smith is a relevant and powerful voice ready and warmed up in the batter’s box, just waiting for her chance at the plate to hit it out of the park.
1 3/4 of 2 Guns Up.
May 23, 2015 @ 12:32 pm
This is a whole lot better than that autotuned-yet-still-somehow-not-quite-on-key ‘Automatic’ drivel that festered the airwaves.
It’s about time Nashville spits out the bubblegum and lets female singers perform real country with lyrics that matter. I’m sure the studio version of this could sound like the great female songs we had in the 90s
May 23, 2015 @ 2:06 pm
Caitlyn is such a great performer. I’d love to see/hear a lot more of her out there, and a lot less of Garth Brooks…except for all that falling stuff – that’s just entertaining.
May 23, 2015 @ 3:20 pm
This is like a diamond in the shit today’s music, this is like Toledo Ohio, Bro country is like Deroit and the rest is Cleveland
May 23, 2015 @ 4:45 pm
As bad as Detroit is, it doesn’t deserve to be treated this way..
Bro country is the Jersey Shore
May 24, 2015 @ 3:13 pm
Hey, come on now. To truly appreciate Cleveland, you have to live here.
May 23, 2015 @ 5:10 pm
Pop or country, a good song is a good song — both formats could stand to play more stuff like this. 🙂
May 23, 2015 @ 5:12 pm
Killer voice …emotional delivery …heartfelt . For me it doesn’t quite do it lyrically . A similar -sounding song -.”.Girl Crush ” nails it lyrically and melodically .
May 23, 2015 @ 9:51 pm
Lady’s got a bluesy voice without the smoke…it works quite well.
May 24, 2015 @ 10:45 am
As a short fiction writer, I had a very similar situation inspire the short story my friends seem to like the most. I had a huge fight with my little brother, who was maybe 13-15 at the time. He has severe ADHD and I lost my cool with him and then later that night I thought about how I’d feel if something happened to him. It took me several weeks to write the 6-7 page story. Hardest thing I’ve ever written, but it turned into something.
It doesn’t take real experiences for some things. You just have to think about it.
May 24, 2015 @ 1:17 pm
sweet story ….I’m sure we can all empathize with you .
May 24, 2015 @ 10:45 am
Trigger, do you know where the video was recorded?
May 24, 2015 @ 12:07 pm
I’m not sure. It was recorded in Nashville for a YouTube event. Initially I thought it was at The Basement because of the bricks in the background, but it doesn’t look the same.
May 24, 2015 @ 1:04 pm
This is not a minor nitpick”¦ she should get more serious about tuning her guitar. It’s quite out of tune.
But she has beautiful voice, thanks trigger.
May 24, 2015 @ 2:42 pm
The guitar may be a little out of tune, but it’s more that it’s just VERY shittily recorded. Sounds like it’s just run into the board – no DI – then just ignored. Crappy open mic style. Vocals are fantastic though!
May 24, 2015 @ 2:57 pm
Man, you folks are a tough audience. It’s a live video. I don’t know how many grainy-ass iPhone videos I’ve had to fight through over the years. It’s not like Caitlyn Smith has six figures to drop for a video of a song she hasn’t even released as a single under her own name. I’d say it’s pretty high quality. The guitar does sound tinney, but that’s what you get in a video like this. Not really hearing any major tuning issues, maybe something minor. Sheesh.
May 24, 2015 @ 3:19 pm
It ain’t nothing on her – she did her part perfectly. But the YouTube people should know how to record a guitar. You know…being video people who want to take over the music industry and all…
May 24, 2015 @ 5:42 pm
Your music made my dog whine
May 24, 2015 @ 3:46 pm
Sorry for the negativity”¦ There’s no doubt, It’s a great tune, and she’s got a beautiful voice.
May 25, 2015 @ 9:54 am
That wasn’t a whine Colonel. That was a deep tissue doggy orgasm.
May 24, 2015 @ 6:16 pm
Damnit…I guess I like a Meghan Trainor song now :/
May 25, 2015 @ 7:39 am
When I first heard Meghan Trainor , that was my reaction too . Now I really like her stuff ….especially alongside most country or pop music . It’s ” All About That Song “…that very hooky , very clever , very well performed and arranged , very relate- able- something -to-say , very fresh , very entertaining song from an artist who isn’t full of herself or trying to be someone else altogether .
May 24, 2015 @ 10:50 pm
She is such great writer. Her singing is pretty.