Q. The first time you realized you wanted to be a musician...
When I was four years old and I tried to prop myself up to the piano and play it. My mum taught me how to play at four, which turned into me listening to songs and playing them back on the piano, having a complete disregard for written music.
Q. What was the first record you ever brought?
The Marshall Mathers LP by Eminem in 2001.
When I was at Berklee College of Music in Boston and I played a show at Cafe 939, which 200 people showed up for. I remember I put together a nice Oxford shirt and fake glasses, because I thought it looked smart. I was going for that college hipster vibe from the early 2010s.
I used to sell Christmas CDs that I’d made myself, going round door to door like a boy scout to sell them for about $10 each when I was about 13
Q. When was the first time you were star-struck?
It was in 2014. I went to this place called Sushi Park and Harry Styles came in wearing this very large hat, with my now-friend Jeff Azoff, who I didn't know at the time. Like a buffoon I tweeted, "So cool, I’m in LA, I signed my deal and now I see Harry Styles at dinner!" thinking that nothing would happen, then suddenly 15 people were outside the restaurant waiting for him. I was really embarrassed, he cheekily followed me after as a kind of 'F you'.
Q. The first time you blew a paycheque frivolously…
When I signed my publishing deal I went to Barneys and got a Versace dog chain for $800. It was the most money I’d ever spent on anything in my life – I think I’d seen Bruno Mars wearing it. I don’t actually have it any more, I let Kehlani borrow it and she lost it.
Q. When was the first time a politician made you mad?
When George Bush couldn’t finish that proverb with the correct ending: "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.” I was only about 11 but I was screaming at the TV, he couldn’t get it right and it was so frustrating.
Q. When was the first time you ever met a fan?
In my YouTube days when I was 17 years old, I was walking on the beach and someone came up to me to tell me that they were a fan of my videos. I was really taken aback. I think that picture is still circulating online somewhere. I have really horrible sunglasses on and looked like a really angsty teen, trying to cover up my midsection in my swimming shorts.
Q. The first time you went viral...
In September 2011 I put up a cover of "Someone Like You" by Adele and in one day it got 100,000 views. It’s crazy because now when I put up a video it gets that many views in five minutes, but at the time, it was overwhelming and surreal.
Q. The first time you realized you were actually any good…
I think when I wrote "We Don’t Talk Anymore", I felt like I was pretty good, because I thought that pre-chorus melody was clever. People actually didn't really like that song when I first played it for them, the label wasn't really feeling it, but I just knew it was catchy.
Q. The first time you got given a rider…
It was 2015, and I was on tour in Europe. Before I had just been slumming it, sleeping in the back of an Infinity, but on my first European tour I got a tour bus and a rider. It was here in England and on it was a coffee mug, some Oreos and Throat Coat.
Q. When was your first worst haircut?
When I decided to die my nice brown hair platinum blond in 2018. It was not the look.
Q. When was the first time you ever won at anything?
I’ve been stunningly unlucky except in regards to music. I won the talent show at school in the eighth grade. I was beatboxing because I was too afraid to sing in front of people.
Q. The first time you got given any really excellent advice...
In September 2012, a successful songwriter told me, pretty harshly at the time, that my lyrics sucked and that if I wanted to be better I really needed to hone in on becoming a stronger lyricist. It wasn’t the easiest thing to swallow at the time, but it ended up being really beneficial.
Source: https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/culture/article/charlie-puth-interview
No comments:
Post a Comment