Charlie Puth Beats Himself Up While Eating Spicy Wings | Hot Ones

Speaker 1: I swear I'm not. This isn't for clout. This isn't for like. Oh, he's so funny. I'm in pain. Speaker 2: Hey, what's going on? Everybody, for first we feast. I'm Sean Evans, and you're watching Hot Ones. It's the show with hot questions and even hotter wings. And today we're joined by Charlie Puth. He's a four time Grammy Award nominated singer songwriter and producer. His latest album is called Whatever's Clever, and it's scheduled to release on March 27th. Check out the singles Changes and Beat Yourself Up, out now, as well as the Whatever's Clever world tour to follow. But in the meantime, it's a go round with the Wings of Death. Charlie Puth, welcome to the show. Speaker 3: Thank you for having me. I'm a little. I haven't been this nervous since the Super Bowl. I'm going to be completely honest. Speaker 2: Are you not much of a spicy food guy? Speaker 3: No, I actually haven't had spice and probably a couple of years. The smell itself kind of smells spicy. This one here? Yep. Speaker 2: That's the one. Speaker 3: This one. Okay. Ready? Mhm. Speaker 4: Wait. Hold on. That's not that bad. Speaker 3: That's actually good. Speaker 2: So from Jeff Goldblum. Speaker 3: It's hot. I think I'm gonna be good. Speaker 2: So from Jeff Goldblum to Atada, even a saxophone solo from Kenny G. The features on your new album absolutely rule. Can you talk me through the origin story of a song like Love and Exile, and specifically what it was like to record alongside yacht rock legends Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins? Speaker 3: We just got together, had a couple of mochas and just Kenny was like, okay, the song is called Love in Exile and I'm like, that sounds like a book. That sounds like a novel. What? Uh, I was playing some. I'll never forget this. I was playing something. And then he whispered in my ear quite loudly, I think you should let Mike play the keyboard. I'm like, say, less. Michael McDonald walked over to my road 73 and just played ding ding dong ding ding ding ding ding ding ding. I'm like, ooh, a shuffle. It hurts the thing and you'll hear it. But it's kind of like a modern day yacht rock anthem. Speaker 2: How would you describe yacht rock? Like, are there qualities that make a song peak yacht? Speaker 3: I think what makes a song Peak Yacht is the jazzy, uh, chord structure. Um, you listen to Ambrosia. It's not just a regular, um, F chord. It's like a F suspended chord, which is just a fancy word for a little bit more notes in the actual chord. Um, if a triad c-e-g looks like this, a yacht rock chord would be C, D, E, G. Speaker 5: B, D, F sharp. Speaker 3: It's, uh, it's just more colors in the chord structure and a lot of dry drums. Like, he listened to a record by Steely Dan called Asia. It's some of the best production ever because they kept the drums dry. They, like, kind of hit you in the face, and I think it might have been one of the origins for hip hop and like, you know, early New York based hip hop, where the drums are like really just in your face early. Ll cool J mama said knock you out. Like those drums are all just like in your face and everything behind it is wet. I think that's what yacht Rock is as well. Does it have an exciting flavor like garlic in it? Speaker 2: It does have garlic in it. This is a pickled garlic Sriracha in fact. Speaker 3: Okay. Talk to me. I'm gonna go this end. Hmm. Wait. I'm like really confident all of a sudden. This is not bad at all. Speaker 2: So I understand that in college you do weekly hustle days, which was bringing your music on the train with you and then sitting outside record executives doors for hours on end. Yeah. What stands out is like your best or most productive hustle day, and is there another one that stands out in your memory for being the harshest feedback or door slammed in your face? Speaker 3: Ooh, I think the most successful hustle day was when I successfully got into the Universal Music Publishing building on Broadway, and successfully finagled my way into a session with some up and coming songwriters. When I had nothing to my name, I was just making beats at my parents house in new Jersey. The harshest advice was from Kara DioGuardi when she told me that my lyrics weren't any good, and I did not take a 20 year old me to not take that very well. But it ended up being the best advice I could ever get because it introduced me to the idea of collaboration in music, and all my best songs, in my opinion, have been made through collaboration, attention written with J. Cash and See You Again, written with like it's different brains make a great song. I hear my sister laughing in the background because she knows what's about to happen. All right. Mhm. Mhm. Holy moly. Wait a minute. Speaker 2: Maybe you're a hot sauce guy all along. Charlie, do we ever. Speaker 3: Mhm. I'm feeling pretty good right now. You should. Oh wait. Okay. No it's just it's just like a little a tickle. Speaker 2: Mhm. Yeah. Nothing you can't handle though. Speaker 3: Yeah. Speaker 2: So I've heard you say that your goal with any hook is to find the balance between too boring and too annoying. Can you talk me through what that tightrope walk is like for a songwriter? Speaker 3: I think What a song that will resonate with people the most is a song that has little bits of repetition. My Sharona. I wanna dance, dance, dance, dance. I came to dance, dance, dance. But there's just a fine line. If like a little bit too much in the glass that's starting to get really hot. A little bit in the glass. Too much in the glass. Rather it starts to kind of pour over and then it becomes annoying. There's just it's like you can't go 51%. You have to go 50%. My heart's racing all of a sudden. Speaker 6: Mhm mhm. Mhm mhm mhm mhm. Double bite. Speaker 3: Yeah I. Speaker 6: Ooh okay. Speaker 2: I've heard you describe your production process as being inseparable from your process as a songwriter. Can you give us an example of a specific sonic choice where the sound was the lyric like, what is the texture of a synth? Speaker 3: Say ooh c, I like your questions. It makes up for this heat. Um, I think if you listen to a song like We Don't Talk Anymore that can't have anything but the guitar. Like when you press play on the song, the first thing you hear is doo doo doo doo doo doo doo. If that was a piano, it would sound too delicate. If you take that guitar out, it messes up the lyric. It doesn't make you feel as impactful. It's weird. It's a weird dichotomy because I really, I really oh, God, I really love these. I really like these questions. I just hate this. Speaker 2: But unfortunately, it has the caveat of being attached to this format where the deeper and deeper we go, the hotter and hotter it gets. Speaker 3: I understand why you do this, by the way, because I'm thinking when I worked with Pharrell, he we worked at 5:00 in the morning, and we used a different part of our brains because we were kind of half awake. This is. I'm not half awake, but I'm like half in pain. So my answers are gonna be really honest. Speaker 2: That's the point. Yes. All right, so this one is tropical. Amarillo. And you can be proud of yourself officially at the halfway mark. Speaker 3: Excellent. Speaker 6: Mhm. Mhm. Ooh. Speaker 3: Okay. Speaker 2: So I feel like most people have had the experience of hearing a song. Yep. Speaker 3: Oh God. Speaker 2: Of hearing a song that makes them sad even if nothing is sad is happening. Speaker 3: I look kind of sad right now. Speaker 2: Yeah. You do. Well, make sure that we bet it accordingly. Speaker 3: Oh. Go ahead. Sorry. Speaker 2: What is it about the notes themselves that trigger that kind of emotional response in listeners brains? Speaker 3: Uh. The notes themselves that trigger the emotional response? Well, It has a lot to do. With frequencies. Do you know the song? I thought I saw a man brought to life. Speaker 2: Don't seem to know. Speaker 3: Seem to. Speaker 2: Care. Yeah. I'm familiar. Speaker 3: It was another song. Originally in 1993. Oh, my God, it was. It was a punk rock song. And forgive me, I don't remember the name of the band, but in the late 90s they reproduced it and to make it sound like a breath of fresh air, because the lyric itself is very sad, but when you accompany it with but the melody rather, that's what I meant to say. The lyric is sad, but the melody is really happy. I'm torn. I'm a little late. La la la la la. When you mix happy with sad, you get a mix of emotions, potential mix of emotions from the listener. And that's something I love to do in my music. So the melody is very important. All right. And it could actually say the lyric without the lyric being there. Just take a bite of this yogurt. Speaker 2: You've earned it. Speaker 3: I've had obstacles thrown my way before, but I always push through for music. Speaker 2: That's exactly why. Speaker 3: I love music. Even if it means being in pain. This is homegrown. Speaker 2: Hell is what this one is called. For better or worse. Speaker 3: Okay. This one's. Oh my God. Okay. Speaker 2: You got it. Speaker 3: Yeah. Okay. I'm good. Speaker 2: So as we've covered today, you have this well-documented ability to deconstruct exactly what makes a song work. I wonder when you look at the current pop music landscape and you think about the sounds that define it, what excites you the most, and is there anything you think the game is missing? Speaker 3: What excites? We'll start with what excites me the most right now. I like the fact on a logistical standpoint, that there's no longer people telling you what song you have to sing in order to get played on this radio station, in order to get played on Spotify, in order to get played on Apple. There's it's just best song wins, which is what I've always wanted. I love artists like somber, who are putting a lot of reverb on their vocals, and I do think pop music, in my opinion, will expand because of hip hop. It's always expanded because of hip hop. Um, you know, Katy Perry Dark Horse would not be here without juicy J. Three, six Mafia and, uh, Memphis, Tennessee. Maybe I'm just, like, not keen to, uh, hip to what's going on underground right now, but I'm really waiting for something to raise its hand and change pop music because, I mean, that's that's. I feel like that's always how it goes. Speaker 2: The nightmare continues here. Speaker 3: Oh, God. That's a good title for a hot sauce. The nightmare continues. Speaker 6: No, we're on the fifth one. Or was the little. It was a lot. But this is. Speaker 2: Don't speak too. Speaker 3: Soon. Speaker 2: Though. Speaker 3: Oh, God. Okay. Ah. Speaker 6: Yeah. Speaker 2: Is the yogurt helping at all? Speaker 3: No. Speaker 2: How is your pizza palate evolved over the course of your career? Like, do you ever think about how you went from Nellies Pizzeria in Rumson to the Holly? Do you ever think about the journey? Speaker 3: Oh, Nelly's fat blunt. It's a good sandwich. Uh And Mark Luke. Holly is a good friend. Best slice in Brooklyn. Oh. Speaker 2: Yeah. Take your time. Take your time. Speaker 3: I don't know, I still like $1.50 slice from two bros. It makes your pee burn. I love pizza chefs in New York and how hard they work. And I love pizza in new Jersey. I love pizza in Connecticut. I love Pete and Elda's. Speaker 2: Would you like some ice cream, by the way? Speaker 3: I love Seabright pizza. I would. Speaker 2: Okay, come on in. Speaker 3: I love Seabright pizza. Shout out to Kono. I love La Industry. Oh my God. Speaker 2: How good does that taste? Speaker 3: I started having an anxiety attack a little bit. I'm like, actually serious? I just need a second. Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Speaker 3: The sibilance hurts. The more I progress in my career, I don't become a pizza snob. I still will go to the shore for a slice. I still will go to Luigi's for a square slice, no matter how greasy the bottom of it is. I'll eat. I'm not a pizza snob. Go all around the world and eat pizza. No matter how successful I may be. I can't believe I got to go to JFK on a Thursday after this. Oh, yeah, I think I. Okay, so this one. Speaker 2: Da bomb beyond insanity. This one will be immediate. This one's tough for me. Speaker 3: Uh. Speaker 2: What makes the SpongeBob episode? Band geeks one of the greatest episodes of television ever made? Speaker 3: It's the best. It's the best cartoon episode. Oh my God. Speaker 2: Yeah. No, I get it. Speaker 3: It's the best. When you see the bird's eye view of Pearl, Mr. Krabs daughter. Being so huge. Amongst these nematodes and fish. It's the most. It's the most genius thing. Oh my God! Speaker 2: Yep. Speaker 3: It's the most. Stephen Hillenburg God rest his soul. My personality is based off that show. And so is my wife's. Speaker 2: You're an alum of the New England Music Camp? Speaker 3: Yeah. How did you know that? Speaker 2: You're a band geek yourself. Aha. Do you have a most treasured memory from that experience? Speaker 3: Mhm. Having my having my first camp girlfriend and being 15 amongst other music nerds and weirdos. I was in percussion group. I played the xylophone. I was horrible at it. Oh my God. Sorry. Okay, what else you got? Speaker 2: So up next is a squash reaper from Vermont. Speaker 3: Okay. Where in Vermont? Bear. Oh. Speaker 2: Bear. Vermont. Speaker 3: Yeah. I don't ski very well, but I like to ski there. Speaker 2: So fond memories. And on top of the sauce to. Speaker 3: The trick is to have the ice cream right away. Mhm. Speaker 2: Okay. You're learning things along the way. Okay. Speaker 3: It's getting better. Speaker 2: What makes a song like The Star Spangled Banner so exceptional? I've heard you describe it as the hardest piece of music ever written. Speaker 3: It's constant tension and release. Oh, say, can you see? I can't even, I can't even bother right now. Just look it up, listen to it. But, um, a song like the. Oh, God. The it's constant tension. Tension and release. It's major chord. Minor chord. And it's just, I don't know, it just has a melody that soars. And when you put it in four over four timing, this is good. Speaker 2: So typically we dab the last wing. I'm gonna not make that an option okay. Speaker 3: Why is it really bad. Let me just look at doing it. All my friends are gonna make fun of me. No one's gonna make fun of me. No, no, no, like Mike and Adam are going to. Because they've known me since college, and they've seen me throw up in the bushes for eating something too spicy and in Boston, like, oh, whoa, I didn't I thought it was gonna. I thought it was like cinnamon or like, just like. I'm not gonna put that much. Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah. Speaker 3: Can I smell it? Speaker 2: Go. Yeah, go for it. I'm not sure it's gonna help you. Speaker 3: I, I can't, I'm, like, shaking. Okay? I'm just gonna do a teensy tiny bit. Speaker 2: Yep. Me too. Speaker 3: Okay. Speaker 2: Wow. Incredible. Charlie. Jfk JFK, JFK. To airport. Speaker 3: Rides. Oh, my fucking God. Hold on, hold on, hold on. Speaker 2: Okay, Charlie Puth to close things out. I understand that early on in your career, you would cold message YouTubers and offer to make them a theme song for their channel. At $50. Yeah, I'd imagine you've added a few zeros to the remittance since then, but I was wondering if under these ridiculous circumstances, you could maybe beatbox us a theme song. I got the 50 on me. Speaker 3: Oh, also. I did used to do that for YouTubers because. It was a way to promote myself. On the internet and have them shout me out. Uh, and I enjoyed doing it too. I can't even use my lips. Speaker 2: I know there's a lot going on. Speaker 3: Um. Oh. It's getting worse. I just listen for the first time, you got nothing out of me. You're just gonna have to use some stock music. Speaker 2: I don't you know what? You've given us more than enough today. And look at you taking on the wings of death, living to tell the tale. Now there's nothing left to do but roll out the red carpet for you. This camera. This camera. This camera. Let the people know what you have going on in your life. Speaker 3: My new album. What do I. Which camera do I look at? Speaker 2: Whichever one you want. Speaker 3: My new album, Whatever's Clever, is out March 27th. My son or daughter is going to look at this one day to be like, laugh or be embarrassed. Hold on. Come see me at Madison Square Garden if you're in New York. We have Coco Jones, Raving Loony, Jeff Goldblum, Michael McDonald, Kenny Loggins, Kenny G, all on Whatever's Clever, which is my new album. This has been horrible. But again, I will do anything for music, and I want to inspire all of you to make music and just put your thoughts into art. Speaker 7: Good job. Great job. Thank you. Speaker 3: Thank you for the nice questions. I've watched almost every episode. Speaker 2: Yeah. Oh, really? Speaker 3: Yeah. No, I'm a big I'm a big fan. I really wanted to do this. I'm so happy you guys reached out. I really, really am. What we love. Speaker 2: The album turned so many people onto it. Thank you. Yeah yeah, yeah. Speaker 3: This is like, a big deal for me being here. Like all seriousness, I really wanted to do this for a long time. Speaker 2: Was it worth it? Speaker 3: Yes. Speaker 2: We'll take it. Speaker 3: Hot ones. La la la la la. Speaker 2: Hot ones. Fans, what happens when you combine the four hottest peppers on planet Earth? You get the hottest dab ever. Introducing the last dab mageddon grown by the one and only Smokin Ed Currie at Unite. Some of the hottest peppers on the planet pepper X, the Apollo, Carolina Reaper and Scorpion Pepper. Are you built for it? Pick up your bottle at hot ones. Hot ones? That's hot ones to get your hands on the last dab. Armageddon. And don't say I didn't warn you.

Charlie Puth is a four-time Grammy Award–nominated singer-songwriter and producer who has collaborated with the likes of BTS, Wiz Khalifa, and Selena Gomez. His latest album, Whatever's Clever. is scheduled to release on March 27th—check out the singles "Changes" and "Beat Yourself Up" out now, as well as the Whatever's Clever world tour to follow. But how is he with spicy food? Find out as Puth takes on the wings and discusses yacht rock, SpongeBob SquarePants, and why spice makes him as nervous as performing the Star Spangled Banner at the Super Bowl. #HotOnes #CharliePuth BUY HOT ONES HOT SAUCE NOW: http://hotones.com/ BUY HOT ONES ROULETTE GAME: https://tinyurl.com/hotonesroulette SIGN UP FOR THE HOT ONES MONTHLY HOT SAUCE SUBSCRIPTION: https://bit.ly/2veY50P SIGN UP FOR THE FIRST WE FEAST NEWSLETTER: https://mailchi.mp/firstwefeast/signup http://firstwefeast.com/ http://hotones.com/