Reverse engineering is one way to figure out how and why something works. But for Meghan Trainor, reverse engineering her past self is the key to success.

Holy cow do I remember that summer of 2014! Actually, I don’t really remember it, except that it may as well have been 1914 considering how much the world has changed since then. But pop culture has a way of taking you back; you remember who your friends were, who you dated, and where you were when you heard the songs, watched the movies, binged the TV shows…and it was the summer of ’14 when Meghan Trainor’s “All About that Bass” dropped.

An instant smash, it was catchy and fresh. Old people liked it for its doo-wop throwback sound and the youngsters loved its themes of embracing who you are and what you look like. My first thought when I hard it was, this chick woulda made a great opener for Amy Winehouse.

Bur what happened to Meghan Trainor? I vaguely remember follow-up single “Lips Are Movin,” also from 2014, and I recall hearing “Me Too” from a later album in 2016. But for all I know, Trainor peaked early, her first single being her best, and she had all but disappeared from the spotlight since. She’s released multiple albums since her debut (2015’s Title), but aside from seeing her name pop up on one of the charts here and there, the buzz had evaporated as quickly as it came.

Fast-forward to 2022 and Trainor is having a bit of a resurgence, and her latest single, “Made You Look,” is reminding listeners of who she was way back in 2014. Trainor has released an almost literal throwback to herself and “All About That Bass,” reverting back to that pure doo-wop sound that made her popular.

And that’s not a bad thing. Why would you not do what you’re known for? If you want hits, why would you not do what worked for you in the past? According to reports, Trainor struggled at the end of the last decade and the beginning of this one, attempting to craft songs that would hit based on what was working for the industry at the time (see Treat Myself, her last album, released in January 2020). But in 2022, she looked inward and backwards, studying up on “All About That Bass” to find just what it was that made it resonate with listeners all over the world.

The resulting track, “Made You Look,” the second single from her fifth studio album, 2022’s Takin’ It Back, immediately screams out to the listener, This is a Meghan Trainor song! From the recognizable doo-wop swing and the mid-century girl-group harmonizing, to the shiny-bright bubblegum-pop sound and the brass and horns arrangement, this is what Trainor is known for, and this is what her fans love.

Thematically, “Made You Look” also throws it back to her debut hit with another stab at loving yourself and turning your body negativity into a positive: “I’ll make you double take soon as I walk away / Call up your chiropractor just in case your neck break,” she sings, suggesting she’s conquered her negative thoughts. She brings it home in the chorus, name-checking luxury brands before realizing that she really doesn’t need them – she’s the ultimate prize: “I could have my Gucci on, I could wear my Louis Vuitton / But even with nothin’ on, Bet I made you look.”

Peaking at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100, it’s a nice return to the upper level of the charts for Trainor. It doesn’t have the cultural or chart impact that “All About That Bass” had (it reached No. 1 and was everywhere), but it’s a happy return for someone struggling to navigate this new world just like the rest of us.