Charlie Puth on His ‘Gross’ Hair Routine and Working With James Taylor

Charlie Puth gets some of his best ideas in the shower. The musician, 31, estimated that a handful of the songs on his next album, which he hopes to release later this year, came to him there. 

“I have a steam shower and I spray eucalyptus everywhere, and I sit down and just think about what’s going through my mind, if I’m stressed about something or if I’m excited about something,” Puth said. “And I’ll try and just put a melody to those sentences in my head.”

A genre-crossing artist known for hits like “We Don’t Talk Anymore” featuring Selena Gomez, “Attention” and “See You Again” with Wiz Khalifa, Puth originally rose to fame on YouTube. He’s still a social-media enthusiast, posting elaborate TikTok videos of his sound-mixing process.

Born and raised in New Jersey, Puth now lives in Los Angeles, though he’s currently on tour for his 2022 album “Charlie.” Here, he talks about his dream collaborator, his sugary vice and how he gets his perfect curls.

What time do you get up on Mondays, and what’s the first thing you do after waking up?

I wake up at 9, which means that the day is basically over because New York is already up and ready to go. I have a Blue Bottle Bright canned coffee. I’m not sponsored by them in any way. I pair it with a ginger lime Poppi because it has apple cider vinegar in it. It soothes the stomach because—I know it’s bad—but I don’t really eat breakfast. Apple cider vinegar is so gross to drink, but it’s helpful for my weak stomach.

What do you do for exercise?

If I have a busy morning, I try and simultaneously walk while I’m doing things like interviews. But I usually train with my trainer, Jordan [Feramisco]. I have a garage where I just put three pieces of equipment and the treadmill in, and I just get my body moving right away. I’ll come up with song ideas on the treadmill. 

What’s your haircare routine like?

It’s kind of a gross answer, but I rarely wash my hair. I put this stuff on, Leonor Greyl. It’s like $80. It’s the only thing that brings out the curls.

What’s a vice of yours? 

Sometimes I’ll be extra lazy and order a Frappuccino in the morning, which is the worst thing that you can have to start off your day. Java Chip, and it’s like a once-every-two-months kind of thing. But sometimes I need it to feel like 2005 because that was my breakfast in middle school. Once in a while—I don’t really crave sweet things in the morning, I like bitter things—but once in a blue moon, I need the Starbucks cake pop.

Do you have any pre-concert rituals?

The biggest thing for me is matching everything that I do at my house—copy and pasting that to the tour bus. So Blue Bottle coffees, the ginger lime Poppi, maybe there’s a university that will let me use their gym. 

Your album from last year has been called your most personal yet. What’s it like to have it out in the world? 

I thought at the time it was my most personal album. I’m still learning more about myself every day. So now I’m sure I’ll say that about this next project I’m working on. 

I can make albums so quickly now. I usually get the ideas out pretty fast. So I think this new album, I feel a completely different way about just everything. I’m experiencing new things in life and have a completely different perspective. And I think that really translates into the melody.

You’re very good at TikTok and show your fans how you make music, and sometimes use sounds like fire alarms and water fountains and burps. What’s the weirdest thing you’ve incorporated into a song? 

I mean, what is “weird” anymore? I guess in 2015 it would’ve been super quirky and upside down to use a water fountain sound as a bed for your drums. But it seems to be the norm now. I think the most important thing is inspiring non-musicians to download GarageBand and pick up a guitar and make a song, which people have come up to me and said that they’ve done that. So, mission accomplished.

You recently announced a new unscripted TV comedy. How do you define your sense of humor?  

I’m a terrible actor, so I’m just going to act like myself and hopefully that translates onto a TV. I think it will. The show is basically a more in depth story depiction of how I come up with music and following me along in my life and how sound affects it.

What was it like to work with James Taylor? 

He was very quiet and reserved, as was I because I think I was the most nervous person ever to meet James Taylor. But I admired how much of a perfectionist he was. And there’s people to this day discovering our song that we released five years ago.

Do you have a dream collaborator who you haven’t worked with yet?  

I feel like I could bring something out of Paul McCartney, and he could bring something out of me.

How do you think about personal style?

I don’t know how Steve Jobs and Rick Owens do it and did it, wearing the same thing every day. I need to feel something new on me.

Do you have any hobbies or habits your fans might not know about? 

I like cars. I seem to know a lot of useless info about cars, like about their door handles and interiors.

What do you do for self-care?

If there’s a steam shower or something that can make steam, I will most likely jump into it.

What are you reading and watching? I heard you don’t watch TV.

I’m getting into it, but it’s hard for me to watch a show unless it really takes me back. Like “The Sopranos,” my favorite of all time. It’s very rare that I’ll find a TV show that will make me not think about music. I don’t read. That’s probably bad. I should probably read.

What’s one piece of advice you’ve gotten that’s guided you? 

Don’t overthink things. Don’t overdo things. If it feels done, it’s probably done.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Write to Lane Florsheim at [email protected]