Charlie Puth - Whatever’s Clever!

You might assume that being born and raised in New Jersey, Charlie Puth grew up in a hardscrabble part of the Garden state. Actually Rumson, New Jersey, where he hails from, has one of America’s most expensive ZIP codes and one of the highest annual property tax bills in Jersey. Check out track 5, ‘Jersey’, featuring Ravyn Lenae, on his latest album, Whatever’s Clever!

His musical sense, revealed in the incredible pop songs he composes, comes from his mother,  who was a music teacher and also wrote commercials for HBO. So it's not surprising that Charlie became famous for writing jingles for YouTube personalities! Initially, his enthusiasm led him to create a persona that he hoped would appeal to the public, complete with dyed hair, a lip ring, and a hot head - motivated by a desperate desire to prove his doubters wrong. He altered his creative direction and increased his confidence, once Taylor Swift declared that Charlie Puth deserved to be a much bigger artist.

Charlie has now released his fourth studio album, Whatever’s Clever!, that opens with ‘Changes’, a beautifully crafted composition that seems to embody his philosophy when it comes to writing songs. He advises, “Don't complicate things, just allow the creativity to flow as it should”. With other songs like ‘Beat Yourself Up’ and ‘Cry’ which features Kenny G, I’m hearing Richard Marx and A-Ha 80’s resemblances. I find Charlie’s 'Love in Exile', where he teams up with Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald, to be a great match of personalities and talents. Over all, I’d say that every song on this album should keep all of us happy on our summer road trips!

Gary James
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