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Hot Ones - Season 29 - Episode 07: Charlie Puth Beats Himself Up While Eating Spicy Wings
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00:00I swear, I'm not. This isn't for clout. This isn't for like, oh, he's so funny. I'm in pain.
00:13Hey, what's going on, everybody? For First We Feast, I'm Sean Evans, and you're watching Hot Ones.
00:17It's the show with hot questions and even hotter wings, and today we're joined by Charlie Puth.
00:21He's a four-time Grammy Award-nominated singer, songwriter, and producer. His latest album is
00:25called Whatever's Clever, and it's scheduled to release on March 27th. Check out the singles
00:29changes and beat yourself up out now, as well as the Whatever's Clever world tour
00:33to follow. But in the meantime, it's a go-round with the wings of death. Charlie Puth, welcome
00:37to the show. Thank you for having me. I'm a little, I haven't been this nervous since the
00:41Super Bowl, I'm going to be completely honest. Are you not much of a spicy food guy?
00:46No. I actually haven't had spice in probably a couple of years.
01:14The smell itself kind of smells spicy. This one here?
01:19Yep, that's the one. This one. Okay. Ready?
01:25Mmm.
01:28Wait, hold on. That's not that bad.
01:35That's actually good.
01:37So, from Jeff Goldblum...
01:38It's hot.
01:41I think I'm going to be good.
01:43So, from Jeff Goldblum to a Tata, even a saxophone solo from Kenny G, the features on
01:48your new album Absolutely Rule.
01:51Can you talk me through the origin story of a song like Love and Exile, and specifically
01:55what it was like to record alongside Yacht Rock legends Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins?
02:00We just got together, had a couple of mochas, and just, uh, Kenny was like, okay, the song
02:05is called Love and Exile, and I'm like, that sounds like a book, that sounds like a novel,
02:09but, uh, I was playing something, I'll never forget this, I was playing something, and then
02:14he whispered in my ear quite loudly, I think you should let Mike play the keyboard. I'm like,
02:20say less. Michael McDonald walked over to my Rode 73 and just played,
02:28I'm like, ooh, a shuffle. It hurts.
02:37You'll hear it, but, uh, it's kind of like a modern day Yacht Rock anthem.
02:41How would you describe Yacht Rock? Like, are there qualities that make a song peak Yacht?
02:46I think what makes a song peak Yacht is the jazzy, uh, chord structure. Um, you listen to
02:54Ambrosia, it's not just a regular, um, F chord, it's like an F suspended chord, which is just
03:00a fancy word for a little bit more notes in the actual chord. Um, if a triad, C-E-G,
03:06looks
03:07like this, a Yacht Rock chord would be C-D-E-G-B-D-F-sharp, with, uh, so it's
03:13just more colors in the
03:15chord structure, and a lot of dry drums. Like, you listen to a record by, uh, Steely Dan
03:21called Asia. It's some of the best production ever because they kept the drums dry. They
03:25like kind of hit you in the face. And I think it might've been one of the origins for hip
03:29hop and like, you know, early New York, uh, bass hip hop, where the drums are like really
03:33just in your face, early LL Cool J, Mama Said Knock You Out. Like those drums are all just
03:38like in your face and everything behind it is wet. I think that's what, uh, Yacht Rock is
03:42as well. Does it have an exciting flavor like garlic in it? It does have garlic in
03:50it. This is a pickled garlic sriracha, in fact. Okay. Talk to me. I'm going to go to this end.
04:00Mmm. Wait, I'm like really confident all the time. This is not bad at all. So I understand
04:07that in college, you do weekly hustle days, which was bringing your music on the train
04:12with you and then sitting outside record executive doors for hours on end. Yeah. What stands out
04:17as like your best or most productive hustle day? And is there another one that stands out
04:21in your memory for being the harshest feedback or door slammed in your face? Ooh, I think the
04:26most successful hustle day was when I successfully got into the Universal Music Publishing building
04:31on Broadway and successfully finagled my way into a session, um, with some up and coming
04:39songwriters. When I had nothing to my name, I was just making beats at my parents' house
04:43in New Jersey. The harshest advice was from Cara Diaguardi when she told me that my lyrics
04:49weren't any good. And I did not take a 20 year old me to not take that very well, but
04:54it ended
04:54up being the best advice I could ever get because, uh, it introduced me to the idea of collaboration
05:00in music. Um, and all my best songs in my opinion have been made, uh, through collaboration,
05:05Attention written with Jay Cash and, uh, See You Again written with, uh, like it's, it's different
05:10brains make a great song. I hear my sister laughing in the background because she knows what's about
05:19to happen. All right. Mmm. Holy moly. Wait a minute. Maybe you're a hot sauce guy all along,
05:34Charlie. Do we ever? Mmm. I'm feeling pretty good right now. And you should. Oh, wait. Okay. No,
05:41it's just, it's just like a little, a tickle. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Nothing you can't handle though.
05:46Yeah. So I've heard you say that your goal with any hook is to find the balance between
05:51too boring and too annoying. Can you talk me through what that tightrope walk is like for
05:56a songwriter? I think what a, uh, a song that will resonate with people the most is a song that
06:06has little bits of repetition. My, my, my Sharona, I want to dance, dance, dance, dance. I came to
06:13dance, dance, dance. Um, but there's just a fine line. If, if like a little bit too much in the
06:20glass, that's starting to get really hot, but a little bit in the glass, too much in the glass,
06:25rather, it starts to kind of pour over and then it becomes annoying. There's just, it's like,
06:31you can't go 51%. You have to go 50%. My heart's racing all of a sudden.
06:46Double bite. Yeah. I, okay. I've heard you describe your production process as being inseparable from
06:55your process as a songwriter. Can you give us an example of a specific sonic choice where the
07:00sound was the lyric? Like, what does the texture of a synth say? Ooh, see, I like your questions.
07:07It makes up for this heat. Um, I think if you listen to a song, like we don't talk anymore,
07:14that can't have anything but the guitar. Like when you press play on the song, the first thing you
07:18hear is do do do do do do do do do. If that was a piano, didn't it sound too
07:22delicate? If you take
07:24that guitar out, it messes up the lyric. It doesn't make you feel as impactful. It's, it's weird. It's a
07:31weird dichotomy because I really, I really, Oh God, I really love these. I really like these
07:38questions. But unfortunately it has the caveat of being attached to this format where the deeper and
07:45deeper we go, the hotter and hotter it gets. I understand why you do this, by the way, because
07:50I'm thin when I worked with Pharrell, he, we worked at five o'clock in the morning and we used
07:54a
07:54different part of our brains because we were kind of half awake. This is, I'm not half awake, but I'm
08:00like half in pain. So my answers are going to be really honest. That's the point. Yes. All right.
08:05So this one is tropical Amarillo and you can be proud of yourself officially at the halfway mark.
08:10Excellent.
08:20Whew. Okay. So I feel like most people have had the experience of hearing a song. Yep.
08:31Oh God. Of hearing a song that makes them sad. Even if nothing is sad is happening. I look kind
08:36of sad
08:37right now. Yeah, you do. We'll make sure that we bet it accordingly. Go ahead. Sorry. What is it
08:44about the notes themselves that triggered that kind of emotional response in listeners' brains?
08:53The notes themselves that trigger the emotional response. Well, it has a lot to do
09:02with frequencies. Do you know the song? I thought I saw a man brought to life.
09:08All right. Don't seem to know. Seem to care. Yeah. I'm familiar. It was another song originally
09:16in 1993. Oh my God. It was a punk rock song and forgive me, I don't remember the name of
09:23the band. But in the late 90s, they reproduced it and to make it sound like a breath of fresh
09:28air because the lyric itself is very sad. But when you accompany it with it, but the melody
09:35rather, that's what I meant to say. The lyric is sad, but the melody is really happy. I'm
09:41torn. I'm a little late. La, la, la, la, la. When you mix happy with sad, you get a mix
09:48of emotions, potential mix of emotions from the listener. And that's something I love to
09:53do in my music. So the melody is very important. And it could actually say the lyric without
10:00the lyric being there. I'm going to just take a bite of this yogurt. You've earned it. I've had
10:10obstacles thrown my way before, but I always push through for music. That's exactly right. I love
10:15music. Even if it means being in pain. This is which one? Homegrown hell is what this one is called
10:26for better or worse. Okay. This one's... Oh my God. Okay. You got it. Yeah. Okay. I'm good.
10:40So as we've covered today, you have this well-documented ability to deconstruct exactly
10:45what makes a song work. I wonder when you look at the current pop music landscape and you think
10:50about the sounds that define it, what excites you the most? And is there anything you think the game
10:55is missing? What excites me? We'll start with what excites me the most right now. I like the fact
11:02on a logistical standpoint that there's no longer people telling you what song you have to sing in
11:09order to get played on this radio station in order to get played on Spotify in order to get played
11:14on
11:14Apple. There's, it's just best song wins, which is what I've always wanted. I love artists like
11:22Somber who are putting a lot of reverb on their vocals. And I do think pop music, in my opinion,
11:29will expand because of hip hop. It's always expanded because of hip hop. You know, Katy Perry,
11:36Dark Horse would not be here without Juicy J, Three Six Mafia and Memphis, Tennessee. Maybe I'm just like
11:44not keen to or hip to what's going on underground right now, but I'm really waiting for something to
11:50raise its hand and change pop music because, I mean, that's, that's, I feel like that's always how it
11:57goes. The nightmare continues here. Oh God. That's a good title for a hot sauce. The nightmare continues.
12:16No, on the fifth one, I was a little, it was a lot, but this is, don't speak too soon
12:25though. Oh God.
12:34Is the yogurt helping at all? No.
12:40How has your pizza palette evolved over the course of your career? Like,
12:43do you ever think about how you went from Nelly's Pizzeria and Rumson to Ollie?
12:51Do you ever think about the journey? Oh, Nelly's fat blunt. It was a good sandwich.
12:58And Mark Luke Holly is a good friend. Best slice in Brooklyn.
13:04Hold on a second. Yeah. Take your time. Take your time.
13:07I don't know. I still like a $1.50 slice from two bros. It makes your pee burn.
13:15I love pizza chefs in New York and how hard they work. And I love pizza in New Jersey. I
13:21love pizza in
13:22Connecticut. I love Pete and Elders. Would you like some ice cream by the way? I love
13:29Seabright pizza. I would. Okay. Come on in. I love Seabright pizza. Shout out to Kono. I love a lot
13:39of
13:39industry. Oh my God. How good does that taste? I started having an anxiety attack a little bit.
13:49I'm like actually serious. I just need a second. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The sibilance hurts. The more
13:57I progress in my career, I don't become a pizza snob. I still will go to the shore for a
14:05slice.
14:05I still will go to Luigi's for a square slice no matter how greasy the bottom of it is.
14:11I'll eat. I'm not a pizza snob. I go all around the world and eat pizza.
14:17No matter how successful I may be.
14:26I can't believe I got to go to JFK on a Thursday after this.
14:32I think I, okay. So this one to bomb beyond insanity.
14:39This one will be immediate. This one's tough for me.
14:44What makes the Spongebob episode Band Geeks one of the greatest pieces of television ever made?
14:52It's the best
14:59cartoon episode. Oh my God. Yeah, no, I get it. It's the best.
15:08When you see the bird's eye view of Pearl, Mr. Krabs' daughter,
15:15being so huge
15:19amongst these nematodes and fish. It's the most, it's the most genius thing. Oh my God. Yep.
15:29It's the most. Steven Hillenburg, God rest his soul. I, my personality is based off that show.
15:36And so is my wife's. You're an alum of the New England music camp.
15:41Yeah. How did you know that? You're a band geek yourself. Uh-huh.
15:45Do you have a most treasured memory from that experience?
15:48Having my, having my first camp girlfriend and being 15 amongst other music nerds and weirdos.
15:58I was in percussion group. I played the xylophone. I was horrible at it. Oh my God. Sorry.
16:07Okay. What else we got?
16:08Oh, so up next is a squash reaper X from Vermont.
16:25Where in Vermont? Bear? Oh, fine. Bear Vermont? Yeah.
16:31I don't ski very well, but I like to ski there.
16:35So fond memories. And on top of the sauce too. The trick is to have the ice cream right away.
16:42Hmm. Okay. You're learning things along the way.
16:44Okay. It's getting better.
16:47What makes a song like the Star Spangled Banner so exceptional?
16:50I've heard you describe it as the hardest piece of music ever written.
16:53It's constant tension and release.
16:58Oh, say, can you see? I can't even, I can't even bother right now.
17:03Just look it up. Listen to it.
17:05But, um, a song like the, oh God, the, the, it's, it's constant tension, tension and release.
17:18It's major chord, minor chord, and it's just has, I don't know.
17:22It just has a melody that soars. And when you put it in four, four timing, this is good.
17:29So typically we dab the last wing. I'm going to not make that an option. Okay.
17:35Why is it really bad?
17:40Let me just look at doing it.
17:44All my friends are going to make fun of me.
17:46No one's going to make fun of me.
17:47No, no, no. Like I, Mike and Adam are going to because they've known me since college and
17:52they've seen me throw up in the bushes for eating something too spicy in Boston.
17:56Like, oh, whoa, I didn't, I thought it was going to, I thought it was like cinnamon.
18:06I'm not going to put that much.
18:08Yeah. Yeah.
18:08Can I smell it?
18:09Go. Yeah.
18:10Go for it.
18:11I'm not sure that's going to help you.
18:15I can't, I'm like shaking.
18:17Okay.
18:17I'm just going to do a teensy tiny bit.
18:19Yep.
18:20Me too.
18:23Okay.
18:24Wow.
18:24Incredible, Charlie.
18:25JFK.
18:26JF to JFK.
18:30To airport rides.
18:31Oh my fucking God.
18:32Mm-hmm.
18:33Hold on.
18:34No, hold on, hold on.
18:36Okay, Charlie Puth to close things out.
18:38I understand that early on in your career,
18:40you would cold message YouTubers and offer to make them a theme song for their channel at $50.
18:46Yeah.
18:47I'd imagine you've added a few zeros to the remittance since then,
18:50but I was wondering if under these ridiculous circumstances, you can maybe beat box us a theme song.
18:57I got the 50 on me.
19:06I did used to do that for YouTubers because
19:11it was a way to promote myself
19:15on the internet and have them shout me out.
19:21And I enjoyed doing it too.
19:25I can't even use my lips.
19:27I know.
19:28There's a lot going on.
19:29Um, hold on.
19:33It's getting worse.
19:37Listen, for the first time, you got nothing out of me physically.
19:41You're just going to have to use some stock music.
19:43I don't know.
19:45You know what?
19:46You've given us more than enough today.
19:48And look at you taking on the wings of death, living to tell the tale.
19:52Now there's nothing left to do, but roll out the red carpet for you.
19:55This camera, this camera, this camera.
19:56Let the people know what you have going on in your life.
19:59My new album, which camera do I look at?
20:03Whichever one you want.
20:04My new album, Whatever's Clever, is out March 27th.
20:09My son or daughter is going to look at this one day.
20:13I'd be like, laugh or be embarrassed.
20:15Hold on.
20:17Come see me at Madison Square Garden if you're in New York.
20:22We have Coco Jones, Raven Lene, Jeff Goldblum, Michael McDonald,
20:27Kenny Loggins, Kenny G, all on Whatever's Clever, which is my new album.
20:31This has been horrible.
20:33But again, I will do anything for music.
20:35And I want to inspire all of you to make music and just put your thoughts into art.
20:47Good job.
20:48Great job.
20:50Thank you for the nice questions.
20:53I've watched almost every episode.
20:55Yeah.
20:55Oh, really?
20:55Yeah.
20:56No, I'm a big fan.
20:57I really wanted to do this.
20:58I'm so happy you guys reached out.
21:00I really, really am.
21:01Well, we love the album.
21:02I've turned so many people onto it.
21:04Yeah, yeah, yeah.
21:05This was like a big deal for me being here.
21:07Yeah.
21:07In all seriousness, I really wanted to do this for a long time.
21:11Was it worth it?
21:13Yes.
21:14We'll take it.
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