"No" (stylized in all caps) is a song by the American singer-songwriter Meghan
Trainor from her second major-label studio album, Thank You (2016). Ricky
Reed produced the song and wrote it with Trainor and Jacob Kasher Hindlin; Epic
Records released it as the album's lead single on March 4, 2016. A dance-pop song
inspired by 1990s pop music and R&B, "No" has lyrics about sexual
consent and empowerment, encouraging women to reject unwanted advances from
men.
Music critics praised "No" as a showcase of Trainor's confident and mature side and
deemed it an improvement from her earlier songs. In the United States, the song
reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified 2× Platinum by
the Recording Industry Association of America. It also reached the top 10 in Australia,
Canada, Austria, Israel, Latvia, South Africa, and Scotland, attaining multi-platinum
certifications in the former two and Poland.
Fatima Robinson directed the music video for "No", which features Trainor performing
choreographed dances in a warehouse and entwining her arms with accompanying
female dancers. Critics compared it to the visuals of various 1990s female recording
artists and praised her creative evolution, particularly the choreography. In further
promotion, Trainor performed "No" on television shows such as the iHeartRadio Music
Awards, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and the Billboard Music Awards, and included it
on the set list of her 2016 concert tour, the Untouchable Tour, and the Timeless
Tour (2024).
Background and release
[edit]
Ricky Reed produced
and co-wrote "No".
Trainor signed with Epic Records in 2014 and released her doo-wop debut single, "All
About That Bass", to commercial success.[1][2] She initially recorded music in a similar
vein for her second major-label studio album, Thank You (2016). L.A. Reid, the
chairman of the label, encouraged Trainor to go back to the drawing board because she
lacked a proper lead single for the project: "You don't have your bullet. You don't have
that big song," a behavior that Trainor described as typical of him.[3] Determined not to
write "All About That Bass 2.0",[4] she booked studio time with producer Ricky Reed that
afternoon. Reed recounted that they "never set out to specifically go after any particular
sound", beginning the session with the idea of a dancehall-inspired rhythm.[5] They
texted Jacob Kasher Hindlin to cancel his other session and join them.[3]
Reed considered it impossible to complete the lead single that day and said, "Let's just
blow off some steam, fuck around, have a good time."[5] Trainor was determined to write
"a big eff-you song, an anthem about girl power that sounded like nothing on the
album", and asked Hindlin and Reed to "do a beat that no one expects Meghan Trainor
to do".[3][6] "No" was written within seven hours.[7] Reed described the swift evolution of
the song as "a thing of mystery", likening it to opening Pandora's box.[5] When Reid
heard it, he jumped up and said "That's what I'm talkin' about!", playing it 29 times in
succession.[3] Ultimately, "No" changed the direction of Thank You, as the three started
experimenting with new musical styles and produced six more tracks.[4]
In December 2015, Trainor stated that she had almost completed her upcoming album,
describing the material as "something that's not on the radio" and disparate.[8] In
a Fuse interview published in February 2016, Trainor confirmed the lead single's title as
"No" along with a March 2016 release date, calling it an anthem for women about telling
a man they are fine by themselves: "No no no. I don't need your hands all over me. I'm
good. I'm gonna dance on my own with my girls."[9] On March 1 she unveiled the artwork
for the song on her social media accounts.[10][11] Epic Records digitally released it three
days later, along with the preorder for the album.[11][12] In the United States, the label
promoted "No" to adult contemporary radio stations on March 7, and to contemporary
hit radio stations the next day.[13][14] BBC Radio 1 selected the song as the "Track of the
Day" on March, while Epic Records solicited it to radio airplay in Italy four days later. [15][16]
Composition and lyrics
[edit]
"No" (2016)
Duration: 22 seconds.0:22
A 21-second sample of "No", a dance-pop song with guitar instrumentation on which Trainor
decisively repeats the word "no"
Problems playing this file? See media help.
"No" is three minutes and 33 seconds long.[17] Reed played keyboards, piano, and
produced and programmed the song. Ethan Shumaker engineered it at Reed's studio
in Elysian Park, Los Angeles, Chris Gehringer mastered it at Sterling Sound in New
York, and Manny Marroquin mixed it at the Carriage House studio in Nolensville,
Tennessee.[18]
"No" is inspired by 1990s music and R&B.[19][20][21] Billboard's Joe Lynch described the
song as a "dance-y pop anthem".[7] Trainor opens it by singing doo-wop vocals
over retro style music reminiscent of her debut major-label studio album, Title (2015),
which transitions into crisp guitar instrumentation and a beat that recalls The Neptunes.
[7][22]
Trainor intended for the transition to surprise listeners who may be expecting "No" to
sound like her usual music: "Yeah, you think this is Meghan Trainor? Here we go, drop
the beat."[7] Fuse's Emilee Lindner compared Trainor's flow on the song to Mýa's 2003
single "My Love Is Like ... Wo", noting that the chord progression in the chorus is akin to
the work of Max Martin.[23] Spin's Brennan Carley and Time's Nolan Feeney compared
its melody and guitar squeals to early Britney Spears and NSYNC songs.[5][20] The
instrumentation of "No" also makes use of whistles, described by Isabella Biedenharn
of Entertainment Weekly as "a catchy sundae of whistles and sassy quips".[24] Knoxville
News Sentinel's Chuck Campbell called the song a "clubby/girl-group rumbler".[25]
"No" has lyrics about sexual consent and women's empowerment.[21][26] The song
discusses men who approach women and are unable to accept it when their advances
are rejected.[4] During its chorus, Trainor repeats the word "no" several times to
emphasize the eternal nature and decisiveness of the word: "My name is no, my sign is
no, my number is no."[23] She proceeds to decline an assertive male counterpart's offer
to dance with her and asks him to back off.[24][27] Trainor affirms that she could court a
man if she intended to, but it is not her priority.[21] When asked about her inspiration for
"No", she stated that she wanted to be better at being single, and wanted the song to
help young women and teenagers realize they do not need a suitor, and that they "can
go out with [their] girls and have just as much fun".[28]
Critical reception
[edit]
Music critics viewed "No" as a departure from Trainor's earlier work, showcasing her
confident and mature side.[7][23][27] Lindner called the song an improvement from the
problematic lyrics on "All About That Bass" and Trainor's 2015 single "Dear Future
Husband".[23] Lynch stated that Trainor was more confident on it than her debut single,
and proved that she has more to offer than what listeners expect.[7] Carley thought
Trainor gave up her "sock-hopping persona" in favor of straightforward free-spokenness
on "No".[5] MTV News's Lucy Bacon praised the empowering lyrics and catchy chorus,
foreseeing greater success than "All About That Bass" for the song.[26] Chris Conaton
of PopMatters wrote that though it strays from the "doo wop and early girl group-inspired
songs" that popularized her, it fits her area of expertise.[29] Writing for Spin, Dan Weiss
stated that with its TLC-influenced chorus, "No" alleviates the soft-hued trauma from "All
About That Bass", calling the end result faultless and magnificent.[30] The Los Angeles
Times's Gerrick D. Kennedy thought that the song was way more suitable for clubs than
others by Trainor.[4] Glenn Gamboa of Newsday described it as Trainor's version of "the
usual club tale", on which she was inspired by Destiny's Child to create an empowering
song so memorable it would be difficult to escape.[31]
