Charlie Puth is looking back on his early years in the spotlight with a rare mix of honesty and self-awareness, admitting that parts of his past now make him cringe, and that stepping away from alcohol has helped him finally feel like himself.
In a new Rolling Stone interview published Tuesday, January 20, the 34-year-old singer opened up about how fame pushed him to pretend like a version of himself that never felt real.
The reflection comes as he prepares to release his upcoming album, Whatever’s Clever!, which includes a track fittingly titled I Used to Be Cringe.
“I would talk differently in 2016,” Puth said, explaining how he felt pressure to act a certain way once his career took off.
“I would go to a radio show and tell myself, ‘You’re gonna put on a cool-guy accent because you have a big song out right now.’ It was just so much inauthenticity.… I thought I had to be a certain way to be popular.”
He admitted that much of that behaviour came from not truly knowing himself and being heavily influenced by people around him.
According to Puth, advice from record label executives and former management often blurred his thought process.
“None of that was who I am,” he said. “I can’t even look at myself half the time from the years 2015 to 2022. I just didn’t know what I was doing. I used to be very cringe.”
One of his biggest regrets included dyeing his hair blond simply to get attention, a moment he directly references in his new song.
He also revealed that some stories he shared publicly weren’t even true, saying higher-ups told him he needed “excitement” around his image.
Alongside personal growth, Puth also shared how quitting alcohol played a key role in his transformation.
Now settled down with wife Brooke Sansone, who is pregnant with their first child, he reflected on a turning point in New York. “I don’t drink at all,” he said. “I think it clouds my judgment.”
He recalled a night of heavy partying before releasing his 2023 album Charlie, which ended with a brutal hangover and a moment of clarity.
“It’s profound when it just all comes to a screeching halt one day at 30 years old in New York City,” he said.
Puth says Whatever’s Clever! marks the first time he truly slowed down to create music without chasing trends.
“This album… is the first time where I just sat down and I had a lot of time,” he shared. After nearly a decade of “chasing my tail,” he says he’s finally found balance, and peace.
