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Charlie Puth

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— CH. 1 · INTRODUCTION —

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Charlie Puth

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  • Charlie Puth was a sixth-grader when he went door to door selling a Christmas album that he had recorded and produced himself. The album was called Have a Very Charlie Christmas, and it brought in $600. That early venture previews a career that runs on two tracks. Puth is a pop singer with songs on the radio. He is also a writer and producer whose work sits inside other artists' records. This documentary asks how one musician came to occupy both roles. It asks how a habit of posting videos online turned into a record deal. It asks what happens when reviewers and listeners disagree about an album. And it asks what Puth did when he decided that some of his own releases were not good enough.

  • Charles Otto Puth Jr. was born on the 2nd of December 1991 in Rumson, New Jersey. His mother, Debra, taught music and also wrote commercials for HBO. His father, Charles Otto Puth Sr., worked as a builder and real estate agent. He has two younger siblings, the twins Stephen and Mikaela. His father is Catholic and his mother is Jewish.

    When Puth was two years old, a dog bite nearly killed him and left his right eyebrow permanently scarred. At four, he began piano lessons with his mother, who introduced him to classical music. He started studying jazz at ten. At twelve he joined a summer youth jazz ensemble at the Cool School of the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, New Jersey. That same theatre later hired him to play in a Charlie Brown production.

    School was not always kind. Puth has said that, while growing up, other kids would "team up against me so bad." He describes being kicked and then accused of faking his pain.

    From seventh grade through his senior year, he attended Manhattan School of Music Pre-College, majoring in jazz piano with a minor in classical studies. His regular schooling included Holy Cross School and Forrestdale Middle School in Rumson. He graduated from Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School in 2010. Three years later he finished at Berklee College of Music, where his major was music production and engineering, a clue to the studio-centered career ahead.

  • In September 2009, at the age of 17, Puth launched a YouTube channel called Charlies Vlogs. It carried comedy videos and acoustic covers. Along the way he also began writing theme songs and jingles for other YouTubers.

    Those commissions came from some of the best-known names in that world. He wrote the theme for Shane Dawson's podcast and skits, Shane and Friends. He made the intro jingle for videos by the vlogging family known as the SHAYTARDS. He composed the original theme for Charles Trippy's vlog Internet Killed Television. For the group Our 2nd Life, he wrote a song for their tour and movie, plus several singles for member Ricky Dillon.

    In 2010, Puth released the music video for his first song, "These Are My Sexy Shades." That December he put out his debut extended play, The Otto Tunes, with no label behind it.

    The turning point came in 2011, when Puth and singer Emily Luther won Can You Sing?, an online video contest sponsored by Perez Hilton. Their entry was a version of Adele's "Someone like You." The two also performed it on Ellen DeGeneres's show, and DeGeneres announced that she had signed them to her label, eleveneleven.

    In December 2011, Puth released the promotional single "Break Again," with extra vocals by Luther. On the 25th of January 2012, the pair returned to The Ellen DeGeneres Show and performed two songs, including Lady Antebellum's "Need You Now." In October 2012, Puth played an event supporting DKMS Delete Blood Cancer, which describes itself as the world's largest bone marrow donor center. He left eleveneleven in late 2012.

    On the 23rd of October 2013, he released a second independent extended play, Ego, to streaming services. In 2014 came the promotional single "L.U.V.," with a video directed by Andrew Vallentine. That independent catalogue would not last. When Puth signed with APG/Atlantic in early 2015, his earlier records were removed from iTunes.

  • In February 2015, Puth released his debut single, "Marvin Gaye," featuring the American singer-songwriter Meghan Trainor. It topped the charts in New Zealand, Ireland and the United Kingdom. It earned a double platinum certification in Australia. In the United States, it reached number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100.

    In March 2015, Puth played Trainor's love interest in the video for her song "Dear Future Husband." In the clip, she meets him through an online dating service, and he shows up at her home with a carryout pizza. The pizza wins her over.

    Puth's own releases kept coming. On the 1st of May 2015, he put out a five-song extended play, Some Type of Love. In June he released the promotional single "Nothing but Trouble" with Lil Wayne, taken from the soundtrack to the documentary 808: The Movie.

    The biggest song of that year, however, was one he wrote for someone else's moment. "See You Again" was a tribute to Paul Walker, recorded for the Furious 7 soundtrack with the rapper Wiz Khalifa. Puth wrote it, co-produced it and sang on it. Khalifa wrote the rap lyrics, and the rest of the song is credited to Puth.

    The single spent twelve non-consecutive weeks at number 1 on the Hot 100 and later reached diamond certification from the Recording Industry Association of America. It earned three Grammy nominations: Song of the Year, Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Best Song Written for Visual Media. It was shortlisted for Song of the Year at the BBC Music Awards. It also drew a nomination for Best Original Song at the 73rd Golden Globe Awards.

    With that success behind him, Puth opened pre-orders for his first full-length album on the 20th of August 2015.

  • Alongside the album pre-orders came a second single, "One Call Away." It reached number 12 in the United States, number 26 in the United Kingdom and number 4 in Australia. By June 2017 it had sold 1,575,475 copies in the United States. A remix called the "Coast to Coast Mix" added Tyga, Ty Dolla Sign, Brett Eldredge and the Mexican singer Sofia Reyes.

    Nine Track Mind arrived on the 29th of January 2016. It debuted at number 3 in the United Kingdom and peaked at number 6 on the Billboard 200. Reviewers were far less welcoming. The album scored 37 out of 100 on Metacritic, which made it the 15th worst-reviewed album on that site.

    Another single from the record, "We Don't Talk Anymore," featured Selena Gomez and peaked at number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100. In March 2016, Puth set out on his first concert tour, the Nine Track Mind Tour. A second headlining run that year was called the Don't Talk Tour.

    In 2016, Puth also became the first musician to sign a deal with Deutsch Music, a subsidiary of Deutsch Inc.

  • In 2014, a year before his own debut, Puth co-wrote "Celebrate" for Pitbull. The song appeared on Pitbull's eighth studio album, Globalization, and in the DreamWorks Animation film Penguins of Madagascar.

    The pace picked up in 2015, when Puth worked on several albums by other artists. He co-wrote and produced "Broke" and "Pull Up" for Jason Derulo's Everything Is 4. He co-wrote "Bombastic" with Bonnie McKee for her album of the same name. He produced "Working Class Heroes (Work)" for CeeLo Green's Heart Blanche. He also produced "Slow Motion" for Trey Songz and arranged sessions with Jason Derulo and Lil Wayne.

    One Direction's Liam Payne became a collaborator on the single "Bedroom Floor," with Puth providing background vocals and co-producing. In 2018, Puth was featured on G-Eazy's single "Sober."

    On the 21st of February 2020, Ozzy Osbourne released the album Ordinary Man, on which Puth played keyboard for four tracks. He also featured on Lennon Stella's "Summer Feelings," written for the soundtrack of the Warner Bros. animated film Scoob!

    On the 9th of July 2021, Justin Bieber and the Kid Laroi released "Stay," the lead single from Laroi's mixtape F*ck Love 3+: Over You. Puth co-wrote and co-produced it. The song reached number 1 on the Hot 100, giving Laroi his first chart-topper and Bieber his eighth. For Puth, it was the first number 1 he earned without performing on it.

    He also appears on "After All," a duet with Elton John released as part of John's album The Lockdown Sessions.

  • On the 21st of April 2017, Puth released "Attention," the lead single from his second studio album, Voicenotes. It peaked at number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, his highest placing as a solo artist. "How Long" followed on the 5th of October 2017 and reached number 21. That year he also supported Shawn Mendes on the Illuminate World Tour.

    On the 4th of January 2018, Puth released the promotional single "If You Leave Me Now," featuring Boyz II Men. He also announced that Voicenotes would be pushed back four months, to the 11th of May 2018. "Done for Me," with Kehlani, arrived on the 15th of March 2018 and peaked at number 53 on the Hot 100.

    On the 25th of March 2018, Puth released "Change," featuring James Taylor. The day before, he had sung it at the March for Our Lives event in Los Angeles. "The Way I Am" became the album's fifth single.

    Voicenotes came out on the 11th of May 2018 to generally positive reviews. It debuted and peaked at number 4 on the Billboard 200 with 58,000 album-equivalent units, of which 39,000 were pure album sales. Hailee Steinfeld joined him as a special guest on the Voicenotes Tour that year. The album was nominated for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards.

    The pressure of that year left a mark. In 2018, Puth said he had suffered a nervous breakdown from being overworked, from jet lag, and from the loss of privacy that came with growing fame. He said, "my therapy is to just put melody to it and sing it."

    In August 2019, he released "I Warned Myself," followed by "Mother" in September and "Cheating on You" in October. In early 2020, he announced that he had scrapped everything he had written for his third studio album. In 2022 he said he "didn't really like any of the music" from 2019 and had been "kind of pretending to be a cool guy."

    He kept releasing music in 2020 all the same. "Girlfriend" came out in June, and "Free" appeared on the soundtrack of the Disney+ film The One and Only Ivan the same month. In August he released "Hard on Yourself," featuring Blackbear. Late in the year he featured on remixes of Jvke's "Upside Down" and Sasha Alex Sloan's "Is It Just Me?"

  • In September 2021, Puth began documenting a strange process on TikTok. He built a pop song out of a random bunch of thoughts and noises made with different objects. The videos went viral. They led to "Light Switch," released on the 20th of January 2022 as the first single from his third album, Charlie.

    "That's Hilarious" followed in April, and "Left and Right," featuring Jungkook, arrived in June. On the 7th of July, Puth revealed the album's cover art and release date. In September he released "Smells Like Me," "I Don't Think That I Like Her" and "Charlie Be Quiet!" Charlie came out on the 7th of October 2022, alongside a music video for "Loser." It debuted inside the top 10 of the Billboard 200, and "Light Switch" and "Left and Right" both reached the top 40.

    On the 21st of October 2022, Puth was featured with Shenseea on Calvin Harris's single "Obsessed." On the 31st of March 2023, he released "That's Not How This Works" with the duo Dan + Shay. A remix released on the 14th of April added Sabrina Carpenter. In June 2023 he joined Jimin, Jvke and Muni Long on "Angel Pt. 2," a continuation of a song from the Fast X soundtrack. "Lipstick," released in August 2023, was originally meant to lead his fourth album. In May 2024, he appeared on Stray Kids' "Lose My Breath."

    On the 4th of October 2024, The Charlie Puth Show began streaming on Roku. The faux-reality series co-starred Corporate Natalie as his manager and Ruby Karp as his assistant. Guests included Will Ferrell, John Legend and "Weird Al" Yankovic.

    Taylor Swift gave him an unexpected boost in 2024 with her song "The Tortured Poets Department," singing, "We declared Charlie Puth should be a bigger artist." The mention drew media attention, and Puth released the single "Hero" on the 24th of May that year. Later he put out a Christmas song, "December 25th," on the 8th of November 2024.

    In June 2024, Puth was scheduled to join the ninth season of Singer, a Chinese competition show for professional singers. His appearance was canceled after backlash over his pro-Israel stance on X, and he deleted his X account that month. He made his debut on the show in its tenth season, on the 30th of May 2025.

    In September 2025, he played a run of concerts at the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City, with more shows planned for the Los Angeles location in October. On the 16th of October 2025, he announced that his fourth album, Whatever's Clever!, would be released on the 27th of March 2026. The lead single, "Changes," arrived the same day. "Beat Yourself Up" followed on the 16th of January 2026.

    In private life, Puth had begun dating family friend Brooke Sansone in 2022. They got engaged on the 7th of September 2023 and married exactly one year later. On the 16th of October 2025, he announced that she was pregnant, sharing the news in a clip from the video for "Changes."

    On the 8th of February 2026, he performed the national anthem at Super Bowl LX. In March 2026, he joined the AI music company Moises as its "Chief Music Officer." The third single from the new album, "Home," featuring Hikaru Utada, came out on the 9th of March 2026. On the 13th of March 2026, Sansone gave birth to a son named Jude.

    Puth's tour listings now include a 2026 outing, the Whatever's Clever! World Tour.

Updated

Common questions

What is Charlie Puth best known for?

He is known for "See You Again," the Furious 7 tribute he wrote and co-produced with Wiz Khalifa, which spent twelve non-consecutive weeks at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. He is also known for his own singles such as "Attention" and "We Don't Talk Anymore."

How did Charlie Puth get his start?

He began posting comedy videos and acoustic covers on YouTube in September 2009. In 2011 he won the online contest Can You Sing? with Emily Luther, and Ellen DeGeneres then signed the pair to her label, eleveneleven.

Has Charlie Puth worked on other artists' hits?

Yes. He co-wrote and co-produced "Stay" by Justin Bieber and the Kid Laroi, which reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. He also wrote or produced songs for Pitbull, Jason Derulo, CeeLo Green and Trey Songz.

What are Charlie Puth's studio albums?

Nine Track Mind (2016), Voicenotes (2018), Charlie (2022) and Whatever's Clever!, which was released in March 2026.

Why did Charlie Puth scrap his planned third album?

In early 2020 he announced that he had thrown out what he had written. In 2022 he said he did not really like the music he released in 2019 and felt he had been "kind of pretending to be a cool guy."

All sources

151 references cited across the entry

  1. 1Charlie Puth BiographyAndy Kellman — AllMusic
  2. 2Charlie Puth Whines and Shines on 'Voicenotes'Entertainment Voice — May 11, 2018
  3. 4Charlie PuthCapital
  4. 8Charlie Puth interview: "It took years to become an overnight success"Rob Copsey — Official Charts Company — August 4, 2015
  5. 14Perfectly Pitched For Success – Charlie PuthPaul Williams — January 6, 2015
  6. 15NewsCharlie Puth is the Jersey Shore's newest starChris Jordan — July 19, 2015
  7. 16NewsBerklee Student a YouTube StarRobert Koehler — September 9, 2012
  8. 17Charlie PuthBerklee College of Music
  9. 18Charlie PuthBerklee College of Music
  10. 20How This Former YouTuber Became A Successful MusicianKristen Harris — August 19, 2017
  11. 23NewsEmily Luther Scores Recording Contract – From EllenFrank O'Donnell — October 13, 2011
  12. 25Break AgainDecember 22, 2011
  13. 27NewsTalk ShowsJanuary 25, 2012
  14. 30Ego by Charlie Puth – EPOctober 26, 2013
  15. 31Ego – Charlie PuthOctober 2013
  16. 32L.U.V. – Charlie PuthAugust 4, 2014
  17. 36Discographie Charlie PuthSteffen Hung — Swiss Charts Portal. Hung Medien (Steffen Hung)
  18. 37Discography Charlie PuthSteffen Hung — New Zealand Charts Portal. Hung Medien (Steffen Hung)
  19. 38Charlie PuthOfficial Charts Company
  20. 39MagazineCharlie Puth – Chart History: Hot 100
  21. 40Discography Charlie PuthSteffen Hung — Australian Charts Portal. Hung Medien (Steffen Hung)
  22. 41NewsGolden Globes nominations 2016: Complete listStephanie Merry et al. — December 10, 2015
  23. 46Everything Is 4AllMusic — November 17, 2014
  24. 48Heart BlancheAllMusic
  25. 53Sia's This Is Acting makes a play for Official Albums Chart top spotRob Copsey — Official Charts — February 1, 2016
  26. 54Critic reviews for Nine Track MindMetacritic. CBS Interactive
  27. 58MagazineCharlie Puth
  28. 69Charlie Puth's new single "I Warned Myself" is hereSalvatore Maicki — August 21, 2019
  29. 70Mother / Charlie Puth – TIDALTidal — September 12, 2019
  30. 74Charlie Puth says he made the majority of his new album on TikTokCharlotte Krol — BandLab Technologies — January 24, 2022
  31. 123NewsNewsenHye-jin Hwang — February 22, 2017
  32. 135NewsSang-hoo ParkJTBC — November 26, 2022
  33. 138MagazineSee All the Winners From the 2017 MTV Video Music AwardsEliza Berman — August 27, 2017
  34. 140Magazine2016 Radio Disney Music Awards: See the Full List of WinnersAshley Iasimone — May 1, 2016
  35. 142MagazineTeen Choice Awards 2016: See the full list of winnersJessica Goodman — July 31, 2016
  36. 144Magazine¡Ellos son los ganadores de los Premios Telehit 2016!A. Noriega et al. — October 27, 2017
  37. 149Don't Talk TourOctober 7, 2016

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