--- title: Charlie Puth's "Voicenotes" Sets the Record Straight description: Charlie Puth's "Voicenotes" the singer sets the record straight that he’s neither a one-hit wonder nor an off-the-rack artist. canonical: https://time.com/5272356/charlie-puth-comes-into-his-own-on-voicenotes/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-05-10T11:27:32.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T20:14:18.323Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Charlie Puth Finds a Mature New Sound on Sophomore Album ‘Voicenotes’ og:description: Puth wrote and produced every track on the album og:url: https://time.com/5272356/charlie-puth-comes-into-his-own-on-voicenotes/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3e53c0c66528d414/69892ffa8fd2eefeb835b926/charlie-puth-new-album.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Charlie Puth og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Charlie Puth Finds a Mature New Sound on Sophomore Album ‘Voicenotes’ twitter:description: Puth wrote and produced every track on the album twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3e53c0c66528d414/69892ffa8fd2eefeb835b926/charlie-puth-new-album.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Charlie Puth Finds a Mature New Sound on Sophomore Album _Voicenotes_  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner May 10, 2018 11:27 AM UTC  On his second album, Puth zeroes in on a sharper point of view On his second album, Puth zeroes in on a sharper point of viewGetty Images  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner May 10, 2018 11:27 AM UTC Charlie Puth has something to prove. On his sophomore album _Voicenotes_, out May 11, the 26-year-old singer is out to set the record straight that he’s neither a one-hit wonder nor an off-the-rack artist. So Puth is growing up and getting real, letting his background in jazz and the influence of slick ’90s funk and R&B shine through. The result is a 13-track pop collection that documents disillusionment and nostalgia alike. It’s retro, bittersweet and undeniable as sonic catnip. Born in New Jersey and educated at the prestigious Berklee College of Music, Puth discovered at a young age that he had perfect pitch. He found modest attention in his late teens with a comedic YouTube channel, but his career really picked up when his song covers were discovered by Ellen DeGeneres, who invited him on her show and signed him to her label. In 2015, he recorded the soul-inspired “Marvin Gaye” with Meghan Trainor and collaborated with rapper Wiz Khalifa on “See You Again,” a tear-jerking tribute to the late _Fast and the Furious_ actor Paul Walker that dominated the charts. His debut album, _Nine Track Mind_, soon followed. But where it was difficult to locate Puth’s identity in his debut, _Voicenotes_ commits him to a signature sound–not least of all because he wrote and produced every track. The songs layer his hummed falsettos over bouncy synths and spartan beats. Lead singles “Attention” and “How Long” have already gone platinum, with his breathy vocals foregrounded over catchy bass lines. With tracks like “Patient” and “Done for Me,” using an assist from R&B up-and-comer Kehlani, Puth mines various modes of the retro slow jam, all while spelling out the letdowns of modern love. And he features several big names, including Boyz II Men on the sugary “If You Leave Me Now” and folk icon James Taylor for an uplifting collaboration dedicated to the Parkland survivors. But it’s album opener “The Way I Am” that acts as a mission statement. A smooth, jazzy number, it’s both a blustery challenge and a quiet apology. “You can either hate me or love me, but that’s just the way I am,” he sings with a shrug. Then, almost in a whisper, he second-guesses himself: “Everybody’s trying to be famous, and I’m just trying to find a place to hide.” It may not be his most subtle songwriting, but Puth’s earnest desire–to be liked, loved and, above all, respected as an artist–elevates him to exactly where he wants to be. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5272356/charlie-puth-comes-into-his-own-on-voicenotes/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5272356/charlie-puth-comes-into-his-own-on-voicenotes/"},"headline":"Charlie Puth Finds a Mature New Sound on Sophomore Album Voicenotes","datePublished":"2018-05-10T11:27:32.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T20:14:18.323Z","description":"Charlie Puth's \"Voicenotes\" the singer sets the record straight that he’s neither a one-hit wonder nor an off-the-rack artist.","url":"https://time.com/5272356/charlie-puth-comes-into-his-own-on-voicenotes/","keywords":["Music"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3e53c0c66528d414/69892ffa8fd2eefeb835b926/charlie-puth-new-album.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3e53c0c66528d414/69892ffa8fd2eefeb835b926/charlie-puth-new-album.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Charlie Puth","caption":"Charlie Puth","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/music/","name":"Music"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5272356/charlie-puth-comes-into-his-own-on-voicenotes/","name":"Charlie Puth Finds a Mature New Sound on Sophomore Album Voicenotes"}}]}] ```