‘Nine Track Mind’: How Charlie Puth Gave Retro-Pop Mass Appeal

Working in the studio with a seasoned team of hitmakers, including songwriter DJ Frank E (Justin Bieber, Jason Derulo) and hip-hop producer Infamous (Lil Wayne, Lupe Fiasco), Puth intended for Nine Track Mind to reflect his diverse range of musical influences, encompassing both his love of 70s soul and funk, as well as his fondness for mainstream pop-rap and R&B. Like Ed Sheeran before him, Puth was keen to flex his songwriting abilities and prove himself as the next big pop superstar-in-waiting.

The songs: “I wanted to make an anthem for everyone in a long-distance relationship”

Though it would only be included as a bonus track on the international edition of Nine Track Mind, Puth’s collaboration with rapper Wiz Khalifa on the pop-rap hit See You Again was a significant factor in his escalating popularity. Included on the soundtrack for the movie Furious 7, during which it was played over an emotional farewell scene for the late actor Paul Walker, the song spent 12 weeks at No.1 in the US and became hip-hop’s biggest success story since Eminem’s Lose Yourself. With Puth singing the song’s chorus, to this day See You Again remains one of the most-streamed songs on Spotify.

Released in August 2015, the second single to be taken from Charlie Puth’s upcoming debut album was One Call Away, a gospel-infused track written following a conversation Puth had with a friend about missing his girlfriend. “I wanted to make an anthem for everyone in a long-distance relationship or just someone they haven’t seen in awhile,” he told MTV News. Peaking at No.12 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and No.26 in the UK, it made clear that the singer could imbue his vocals with spiritual longing.

As a church-goer himself, Puth maintains that his experience of singing hymns as a youngster helped to foster his love of performing. “I’d go to church every Sunday and hear the same songs,” Puth told Billboard magazine. “When the church organist didn’t show up, I played the whole mass from memory, and they all praised me for it.” This experience revealed Puth’s perfect pitch, and he has often showcased his awe-inspiring ability to identify specific chords purely by ear. No doubt this helped the singer make One Call Away one of the most sincere ballads of the 2010s.

The inspiration: “You gather up a bunch of emotion with the life shovel, throw it in the life bucket, mix it up”

Now with two successful hit singles to his name – three if you include See You Again – Charlie Puth eventually released his debut album, Nine Track Mind, on 29 January 2016, and it instantly soared to the No.6 spot on both the US and the UK album charts. Flaunting his ambitions to become a pop balladeer, notable highlights on the album included the upbeat piano piece Left Right Left and the string-laden slice of contemporary R&B romanticism Then There’s You. Fully in control of his effortless falsetto throughout, Charlie Puth had well and truly arrived.

Teaming up with Disney Channel teen-pop singer Selena Gomez for Nine Track Mind’s third single, We Don’t Talk Anymore, Puth scored himself yet another US Top 10 hit, with lyrics inspired in a fit of delirium after a bout of food poisoning. Reflecting upon a messy break-up with a mysterious love interest, We Don’t Talk Anymore saw Puth tell the story of a relationship gone wrong. “It’s about a particular moment in my life, when someone very close to me wanted the attention of somebody else,” he explained. “You gather up a bunch of emotion with the life shovel, throw it in the life bucket, mix it up.”

With its bittersweet sentiment and its surprisingly upbeat tropical-inspired groove, We Don’t Talk Anymore boasts great vocal chemistry between Puth and Gomez, with both adding sincerity to lyrics that paint a picture of a fling that has run its course. “It was a pleasure working with her,” Puth said of Gomez’s involvement. “That’s why I’m always happy to sing it, even though it came from a dark point in my life.”

The legacy: “people seemed to like it, which made me happy”

By the end of 2016, Nine Track Mind had gone double platinum in the United States, selling over two million copies. Yet despite its commercial success, Puth has gone on to express mixed feelings about his debut album’s enduring popularity. “I was putting out music that did very well on the charts and people seemed to like it, which made me happy,” he told MTV in 2022. Two years earlier, however, he had expressed some regrets. “It was very rudimentary production, but it was me,” Puth reflected in The Wall Street Journal. “[The album] was super rushed and didn’t feel like me at all.”

Despite his reservations, few commercial pop acts are lucky enough to have a debut album rack up such strong sales figures as Nine Track Mind. Hits such as Marvin Gaye and One Call Away proved enormously popular on the radio, and audiences reacted positively to Puth’s arrival on the pop scene. Though Puth himself would be the first to say he has gone on to produce work that has musically surpassed his first clutch of solo singles, there’s no doubt that Nine Track Mind will always occupy a special place in many fans’ hearts.

Find out which Charlie Puth track ranks among our best songs of 2022.