Charlie Puth’s second studio album Voicenotes is almost here after more than a year since lead single "Attention" dropped. During a candid interview with Ryan Seacrest on Thursday, May 10, on On Air With Ryan Seacrest, Charlie revealed how a nervous breakdown inspired his most personal track yet and more.
“‘Attention’ was like one of the first songs I made for the album so it was like 10% done,” Charlie explained of when the chart-topping track was released in April 2017. “I didn’t even know what the album was going to sound like and ‘Attention’ was like the light at the end of the tunnel because I produced the whole album.”
Charlie, who added he got a lot of feedback while recording Voicenotes from pal and mentor Adam Levine, wants “multiple singles” off his forthcoming sophomore album, which drops on Friday, May 10.
“I want like nine singles on this album,” he continued. “I know this sounds shameless and crazy.”
There’s one track in particular that Puth wants to be the next single: “The Way I Am.”
“It’s the first song I’ve put my whole personality into,” Charlie explained. “Having nervous breakdowns aren’t really fun and the first time I had one … I just knew that I had to come back, get settled and write about it because I feel like a lot of people can relate to it. It was scary that more people were going to know that about my personality … It’s scary knowing that people are going to know more about me."
He continued: “[The nervous breakdown happened from] just being overworked and I’m in my head a lot and that, in combination with jet-lag and you know the self realization that I am getting more famous and my privacy goes out the window pretty much every day, it’s just not what I’m used to and I don’t think I’m ever going to be used to it and my therapy is to just put melody to it and sing it.”
The song consists of personal lyrics on a relationship level as well. After Tanya Rad did a deep dive analyzing lyrics such as “All I want to do is just hold somebody but no one ever wants to get to know somebody,” Puth admitted that yes, he’s ready to find his someone.
“I am ready to settle down and it’s that and a combination of just noticing that people are so wrapped up in their technology. No one calls anybody anymore. I don’t want to sound crusty or anything, but there’s nothing more charming than human interaction and I think there needs to be more of it … but, yeah, you’re right, I am ready to … I don’t do the whole serial dating thing very well. It would be nice to be with somebody … just to have a companion.”
Listen to Charlie’s full interview with Ryan above to hear more, including working with James Taylor, Kehlani and what inspired the overall vibe of the album
Voicenotes drops on Friday, May 10.