In 2024, Charlie Puth received a shout-out from a pop icon when Taylor Swift mentioned him in “The Tortured Poets Department”. She said, “We declare Charlie Puth should be a bigger artist.” Sure, Taylor. Why not? Maybe Charlie Puth should be a bigger artist.
After making his name with hits such as “See You Again” and “We Don’t Talk Anymore”, Puth defined his niche in pop as a musician obsessed with the particulars. While his third album, 2022’s CHARLIE, did not produce a hit as ubiquitous as his breakout singles, it cemented his reputation as a craftsman. From that album, “I Don’t Think That I Like Her” is a cathartic kiss-off that culminates in a key change. Although the titular hook may sound simplistic, Puth’s knowingly juvenile delivery captures post-breakup angst.
On his fourth album, 2026’s Whatever’s Clever!, Puth references yacht rock, R&B, funk, and gospel, making good on the name of his TikTok persona “Professor Puth”, under which he releases videos teaching viewers how to turn everyday sounds into the foundation of a song. “Changes” opens with 1980s synths fit for a stadium, but in the third chorus, it introduces a gospel choir. This shift underscores Puth’s purpose as a pop star: to display the versatility of music itself rather than say anything specific about his own life.
However, Puth writes autobiographically on “New Jersey”, an upbeat look back on a breakup that occurred on a boardwalk. The song’s hook, in which he says, “There’s nothing that fun to do in New Jersey,” conveys the affection a person might have for their home despite what people think of it. Elsewhere, “Love in Exile” proves Puth’s ability to animate a subject matter with whatever feeling he chooses. Featuring Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins, the song turns relationship woes into a cause for celebration.
As a title, Whatever’s Clever! implies both subversion and an ambivalence to coolness. Puth performed the National Anthem at the 2026 Super Bowl; he is no stranger to chasing the zeitgeist. On the acoustic ballad “I Used to be Cringe,” the singer recalls a time he “Dyed [his] hair just for reactions.” However, when delivered without irony, an awareness of cringe can still be cringe. A spoken-word interlude by actor Jeff Goldbloom on “Until It Happens to You” further muddies the album’s message.
Perhaps, by featuring the Wicked star, Puth intended to eschew the idea of coolness by making a purposefully offbeat choice. Even so, Goldbloom’s cameo on “Until It Happens to You” is a little too far out in left field to make that point. His advice-giving is vague and seemingly unrelated to the song’s premise. What’s more, it overshadows a memorable chorus.
Whatever’s Clever! lacks cleverness when it attempts to comment directly on the current pop culture climate. However, as a musical statement, it is both astute and clever. Puth’s wide array of stylistic samples proves he can make the sound of any decade feel fresh, regardless of what is trending today. In an algorithm-driven pop landscape, that is a valid point.
In the week before the album’s release, Puth and his wife, Brooke Sansone, welcomed their first child, a boy named Jude. Commemorating the occasion on Instagram, Puth wrote “Hey Jude”, nodding to an iconic Beatles song. Because the birth of his child made news alongside the release of Whatever’s Clever!, the question remains: could Puth have timed the release of an upcoming album with the due date of his baby? In a world where social media impressions translate into streaming numbers, that would be a clever marketing strategy.
In a 2026 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Charlie Puth said, “I’d like to be not quite as underrated- maybe even, dare I say, to be overrated.” As a musical maestro with a penchant for crowd-pleasing melodies, Puth is the kind of songwriter whose work is pre-fitted for commercial success by nature. So, perhaps Taylor Swift was right to say that he “should be a bigger artist.” However, Whatever’s Clever! pushes those ambitions aside in favor of irreverent stylistic experimentations. Its goal is not necessarily to create a hit, but to put different genres in dialogue with pop. “Professor Puth” is just nerding out, accusations of cringe be damned.