On Sunday, Feb. 8, Charlie Puth sang the National Anthem before the Super Bowl, and it was beautiful. His voice quite literally made me feel like I was levitating. Clearly I was not alone in this feeling — lots of other listeners took to the internet to express their admiration. I was perplexed, however, by the note of surprise that tinged many of the reactions. It’s a well-known fact that Puth has perfect pitch, but this man has been showing us exactly who he is and what he can do since “See You Again” with Wiz Khalifa and his debut EP Some Type of Love. For me, it was love at first listen — he became my favorite solo artist from the moment I first heard his music. When he released his debut album Nine Track Mind in 2016, I played that thing from start to finish over and over and over again, and his stop in New York City for the subsequent “Don’t Talk Tour” made for my second concert ever. When he came around again for “The CHARLIE Live Experience” in 2023, I saw him in concert again, and I left in awe of his incredible voice. I experienced a similar sensation then to what it seems like many people are feeling now: completely unfounded shock. We all know how spectacular Charlie Puth’s voice is, so why does it keep surprising us? I decided to give Nine Track Mind another spin in pursuit of the answer.
The album opens with the nostalgic “One Call Away,” where Puth reminds someone special to him that he’ll always be there. The song practically oozes comfort, and while it reads as a bit simpler than the other tracks on Nine Track Mind, that’s exactly what a song like this needs. It is not about doing anything especially fancy sonically — it is about the message, the crispness of his voice and the exhale it evokes from the listener. This stands in stark contrast with “Dangerously,” the next in line. Here, Puth starts showing off some of that ridiculous range that we know and love. Puth himself has likened the song to Bruno Mars’ “Grenade” — an extremely apt comparison in both content and intensity. The album jumps dramatically yet again with the transition to “Marvin Gaye” featuring Meghan Trainor. Infused with touches of doo-wop and soul, “Marvin Gaye” sees Puth and Trainor engage in a complex vocal dance, and especially hit their groove during the refrain. These vocal gymnastics seem to come so easily to them both — not unlike the songwriting process, during which Puth said the lyrics seemed to just “fall off [his] tongue.”
“Losing My Mind” slows the album back down with some whispers of R&B. Interestingly, his experience writing this song differed greatly from his experience writing “Marvin Gaye.” Puth said of the process, “I thought I was losing my mind, and I didn’t know what to write about. And I stopped myself, and was like, ‘Dummy, why don’t you just write about what you’re feeling right now?’” “Losing My Mind” is followed by the iconic “We Don’t Talk Anymore” featuring Selena Gomez. The shiver-inducing melody and lyrics are where Puth’s artistry really shines, and the pre-chorus is absolutely addictive. There’s a reason this song blew up the way it did. Next, Puth delivers a gorgeous deep cut with “My Gospel,” undoubtedly one of the best songs on the record and a personal favorite of mine. Fast-talking musical brilliance takes center stage here, effectively communicating the feeling of desperation that permeates the song.
“Up All Night” gives Puth the opportunity to ponder unreciprocated feelings, and although it isn’t the most exciting song on Nine Track Mind, his soaring vocals certainly give the listener something concrete to grab hold of. “Left Right Left” (not to be confused with Puth’s other song, “Left and Right,” featuring Jung Kook) is another standout from the record. It’s a fun and upbeat tune about moving forward, and that perfect pitch definitely comes in handy right around the bridge. Puth throws in a (probably unintentional) reference to his later song “Attention” in “Then There’s You,” where he sings “Some girls be cravin’ that attention to be seen / But the one I’m lookin’ at is right in front of me.” As a whole, it’s a light and airy track, tactfully placed before the somewhat masochistic “Suffer.” This criminally underrated song has something almost religious about it; maybe it’s those high notes, maybe it’s the haunting backing vocals, but whatever it is, it works.
Charlie Puth reminds us — yet again — of his insane vocal abilities with “As You Are” featuring Shy Carter. It acts as a fun callback to the ’50s doo-wop vibe of “Marvin Gaye,” and includes a fun call-and-response throughout. Nine Track Mind concludes with the romantic and sweet “Some Type of Love,” the title track from his EP, where Puth croons, “When the world’s on fire we won’t even move / There is no reason if I’m here with you / And when it’s said and done I’ll give me to you / That’s some type of love / That’s some type of love.” This song has everything — the vocals, the easily singable lyrics, the peppy beat. Even though the song takes a slightly less central role in the full-length album, Puth was still intentional with its placement at the end. There’s something about it that Puth wanted to stick with us. And this, my friends, is what clued me in to the answer to my question. What makes Charlie Puth different from so many other successful artists today is that he isn’t flashy. He knows he’s good, he knows he has an incredible voice, he knows he’s capable of writing a great song. But he constantly manages to surprise us because he doesn’t shove it in our faces. So when he does something like perform the National Anthem, it might stun us at first, but we need to remember that he’s been like this all along. I know I’ll be trying my best to do that when I see him perform (again) in May.
Test Spins is a fortnightly throwback column reviewing and recommending classic and underrated albums from the past. It runs every other Friday.
Sydney Levinton is a member of the Class of 2027 in the College of Arts and Sciences. She is the Arts and Culture Editor on the 143rd Editorial Board. She can be reached at slevinton@cornellsun.com.
