Charlie Puth Explains Why His Face Is So Red in Behind-the-Scenes ‘Light Switch’ Video
It’s an odd time to be a celebrity. The rise of so many social media platforms has given stars — especially those hoping to break into the music business — a chance to reach potential fans more directly, but it has also meant needing to navigate an ongoing interaction that skirts the line between the private and the public.
Musician Charlie Puth is one of the many stars who can thank social media for his rise to fame, but now that his work has gotten more mainstream, he’s having to balance different demands. This reality left him red-faced (literally) in a behind-the-scenes video about the creative process for his hit “Light Switch.”
Charlie Puth is a singer-songwriter with fast-rising fame
Charlie Puth has been firmly within the entertainment world since his 2016 debut album Nine Track Mind. Before that, however, he was already amassing a growing following of fans on YouTube. He started out posting comedic videos and covers of popular songs before eventually bringing his own original work onto the platform. As the likes and shares racked up, he got both the support and the practice to bring a full-length album into the world, and his fame has continued to rise ever since.
He’s been helped along with collaborations that have given him ever-expanding reaches into different groups of fans. From Meghan Trainor to Elton John, Puth has friends in high places, and that extra boost to his career helped him climb from YouTube star to bona fide music industry elite.
As All Music reports, Puth “has regularly mined vintage sounds including early R&B, classic singer/songwriter, and the commercial end of new wave for his high-spirited contemporary pop” to create his sound. His most influential hit so far has been “See You Again,” which racked up three Grammy nominations.
Why was Charlie Puth’s face so red in his ‘Light Switch’ TikTok?
Puth released the single “Light Switch” in January 2022 as an early peek at his upcoming third album, CHARLIE. The album promises to delve deep into the emotional as Puth has opened up about how it was influenced by the “worst year” of his life and a terrible breakup. Perhaps since the album is so personal, Puth used TikTok to give fans a behind-the-scenes peek at the creative process that went into writing “Light Switch.”
The short video takes fans into Puth’s creative process as he tries to figure out the different sounds to mix on the track that would eventually become “Light Switch.” Some fans, however, were distracted by Puth’s extremely red face. In fact, Puth got questions about his cherry-colored complexion when he appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
Puth explained to Kimmel, “I had just gotten a facial that day because I truly didn’t think anybody was going to watch that video.” Obviously, Puth underestimated his appeal to fans as the video has now been viewed nearly 16 million times!
Charlie Puth has gained fame in two different worlds
Puth is now navigating fame and fandom in different worlds. He has his Grammy-nominated work that’s slick and polished and ready for mass consumption, but he also maintains a loyal following of mostly younger fans who primarily see him on social media.
One recent TikTok has Puth showing fans frame-by-frame breakdowns of his video for “That’s Hilarious” as he explains the process behind making it. The videos — like the one where he imagines a tour in which he introduces each song through its sound effects — are often casual and feature stream-of-consciousness rambling in short clips.
This way of interacting with fans gives Puth a chance to let down the walls and be more open and fresh, and he admits that it’s a little weird to have fans who only know him from TikTok. He even told Kimmel about a 10-year-old fan who saw him and said, “It’s Charlie from TikTok.” Puth laughed as he says, “No, I’m actually like three times Grammy-nominated. I have like a … a Golden Globe.” These accolades may have a lot of pull among Puth’s rich and famous collaborators, but for many of his young fans, he’ll remain “Charlie from TikTok.”
