Sledgehammer

Album: Reflection (2014)
Charted: 40
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The second single from Reflection finds a loved-up Fifth Harmony singing about being turned on by their man. "It's cool because we've never released a single that's about love - a happy, cute love song," Fifth Harmony's Camila Cabello told Billboard magazine. "It's about being with the person you like and feeling the beating of the heartbeat that beats like a sledgehammer."
  • The song was written by Meghan Trainor with Eric Frederic and Sean Douglas. Before becoming a successful recording artist, the "All About That Bass" star was a songwriter for Big Yellow Dog. Trainor's early songwriting credits for the company included co-penning "DJ Tonight" and "I Like the Sound of That" for Rascal Flatts' Rewind album.

    Trainor recalled to OfficialCharts.com: "As a songwriter, that was the sort of stuff I was writing [before 'All About That Bass']. Imagine eight Sledgehammer songs – that's what I had – and when I told my parents All About That Bass was the song the label wanted to go with, they were like, 'Huh? Really? That song?' I was a new star on Epic Records and I loved those songs, so I asked if we could give it to the girls."
  • The video features the 5H ladies wearing matching off-white outfits, pulling out their best co-ordinated dance moves and pouting from suspended swings. It also includes a silhouetted dude with, yep, a sledgehammer. The clip was directed and choreographed by Fatima Robinson, who also helmed the visual for "Bo$$."
  • When Fifth Harmony recorded this song, that was when Meghan Trainor's boyfriend, Daryl Sabara, was truly impressed. During an interview with PopCrush Nights hosts Lauryn Snapp and Donny Meacham, Trainor said it was Sabara's appreciation for Fifth Harmony that made her realize the two were "soulmates." The couple got married in 2019.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Rosanne Cash

Rosanne CashSongwriter Interviews

Rosanne talks about the journey that inspired her songs on her album The River & the Thread, including a stop at the Tallahatchie Bridge.

Booker T. Jones

Booker T. JonesSongwriter Interviews

The Stax legend on how he cooked up "Green Onions," the first time he and Otis Redding saw hippies, and if he'll ever play a digital organ.

Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake & Palmer

Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake & PalmerSongwriter Interviews

Greg talks about writing songs of "universal truth" for King Crimson and ELP, and tells us about his most memorable stage moment (it involves fireworks).

Charlie Daniels

Charlie DanielsSongwriter Interviews

Charlie discusses the songs that made him a Southern Rock icon, and settles the Devil vs. Johnny argument once and for all.

Experience Nirvana with Sub Pop Founder Bruce Pavitt

Experience Nirvana with Sub Pop Founder Bruce PavittSong Writing

The man who ran Nirvana's first label gets beyond the sensationalism (drugs, Courtney) to discuss their musical and cultural triumphs in the years before Nevermind.

Timothy B. Schmit of the Eagles

Timothy B. Schmit of the EaglesSongwriter Interviews

Did this Eagle come up with the term "Parrothead"? And what is it like playing "Hotel California" for the gazillionth time?