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Friends, Teachers Say Meghan Trainor Was "Going To Do Something Big"

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- Singer Meghan Trainor faced stiff competition for her two Grammy nominations.

Her catchy song, "All about that Bass" was nominated for Song of the Year and Record of the Year. And even though she didn't win, Trainor, still has a big reason to celebrate.

Last year, she was watching the show from home and this year, she was competing with top stars like Taylor Swift, Sam Smith, and Iggy Azalea.

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Trainor's from Massachusetts, where former classmates say they knew she'd be a big star. Karli Herwig is now a Junior at Nauset Regional High School.

"I think a lot of us saw it coming that she was going to do something big," said Herwig.

One of her former music teacher's, Tom Faris, agreed. "(Meghan was) very tenacious. She knew what she wanted and she went after it."

Trainor was known for her talent and her drive. Video of her at a high school music concert in 2012 showed her range in vocals.

Faris said her focus on music went beyond school.

"She worked really hard at her craft and went home nights and worked on songwriting. She was very passionate about it," said Faris.

Yearbook photos show her smiling face. While most teens were busy being teens, Trainor landed a deal with a Nashville music publishing company and started writing songs.

Principal Tom Conrad saw it firsthand.

"She's a little different from the average teenager because she had so much focus of what she wanted to do," said Conrad.

According to the bio on her website, she self-recorded three albums of her own by the time she was 17-years old.

The now-20 year old has penned tracks for big artists like Rascall Flatts and Hunter Hayes. But, it's her own music that's really grabbed the music industry's attention.

"I think everyone always knew what her dream was. I don't know if everyone realized it actually would happen so quickly," said former classmate Emily Faris.

"Here's a kid that you knew as a freshman in high school and is now on the world stage. It's pretty spectacular," said Faris.

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