Usually Charlie Puth makes music by coming up with the melody and then writing lyrics around the music. But he put that process in reverse to make his new album, Charlie, which comes out October 7.
Speaking to American Songwriter, the Grammy winner explained, "I wanted to approach this album a little differently." He said he wanted to step away from his "music first, lyrics after" formula, which is how he writes "a lot of music for myself and for other artists."
"For this album, I had so much to say and throughout all the conversations that I had with myself, I was able to start with the lyrics first and then put the music on afterward," said Charlie, adding he used the same process to develop The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber's hit song "Stay."
"The most important thing you can do as a songwriter is tell the truth," the singer continued, "and I was telling the truth a little bit before, but now the cup is overflowing with truth on this album."
Although Charlie said he's "a pretty private person," that doesn't mean he putting up a facade. "I’m very open about the mistakes that I’ve made in the past in these new songs," he said.
While this is a deeply personal album for the hitmaker, Charlie said this new effort is "just as much about the listener, as well, and me wanting to guide them to inspiration."
That explains why he seemingly created this whole album on TikTok, allowing fans to follow along with the process and make their own remixes. "I wanted them to make their own album and realize that anybody can be a musician," he said.
Charlie dropped "Smells Like Me," a new single off Charlie that's about him wondering if an ex misses him.