Charlie Puth admits he was 'very cringe' during early fame

Charlie Puth is looking back at his "cringe" moments during early fame.

The We Don't Talk Anymore hitmaker appeared in a recent interview with Rolling Stones, published on Monday, and dished on his past self being inauthentic as he used to think he had to act in a "certain way to be popular."

During the chat, Charlie discussed the new song I Used to Be Cringe featured in his upcoming LP, Whatever's Clever!, and reflected that he had no awareness early in his career how to act like an artist, even the lip ring he once wore "wasn't real either."

"I would talk differently in 2016" he recalled. "I would go to a radio show and tell myself, 'You’re gonna put on a cool-guy accent because you have a big song out right now.' It was just so much inauthenticity."

"I thought I had to be a certain way to be popular," he noted.

Sharing the reason, Charlie said it was because of "not knowing himself" while growing up, and being very influenced by those around him."

He further detailed, "I was told by higher-ups that I’m a white guy with brown hair. Literally, they said I need some excitement around my project."

The Left and Right singer said he didn't know "what it meant to be an artist."

"I can’t even look at myself half the time from the years 2015 to 2022. I just didn’t know what I was doing. I used to be very cringe," he added.