Meghan Trainor is opening up about suffering a mental breakdown following a pivotal year in her career. After winning the 2016 Grammy Award for best new artist, the singer said the immense pressure she felt at the time put a strain on her mental health as well as her voice, eventually leading to a second difficult vocal surgery [1]. In a recent interview with Apple Music's Zane Lowe, Meghan said, "I had vocal problems 'cause I was working too much, and I finally collapsed physically and emotionally. I had like a mental breakdown."
"I finally collapsed physically and emotionally."
Meghan went on to share that she had a panic attack while announcing Grammy nominations live on television with Gayle King in 2017. "I was reading the nominees for the Grammy's the year after I won, and I was shaking, and I was like, 'Please don't collapse on TV right now. We're live,'" she said. "As soon as they were like, 'cut,' I fell and started scream-crying and couldn't breathe. And later, they took me away. I was supposed to do more work, and they were like, 'We're done. This is it.'"
Meghan explained that particular panic attack was brought on by people in the industry who threatened professional repercussions if she cancelled any prior commitments. "I had everything. I had my Grammy, I had what people dream of for years," she said. "I had everything I ever wanted, and they were threatening to take it away."
Ultimately, Meghan put her health first and ended up getting vocal surgery a year after her Grammys win, "on the day of the Grammys." She said, "My mind was like, no I'll keep going, I'll keep going. And my body was like, bye. My body had to tell me, instead of me being able to take a break." Meghan said she has since also met with a psychologist who was able to prescribe her two medications, although she did not elaborate further. Watch the vulnerable interview above.