A decade ago, Charlie Puth told Meghan Trainor to “Marvin Gaye and get it on” and the world loved him for it. Written and co-produced with Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber-collaborator BloodPop, ‘Whatever’s Clever!’ battles some old chart-topping demons by embracing yacht rock tropes and ‘80s pop pastiche, while claiming “I used to be cringe” on the song of the same name. But, what if your cringe era was better?
Beat Yourself Up is all trumpets, trombones, and Nile Rodgers-adjacent funk, a poolside cocktail that delivers exactly on its promise and nothing beyond. Love In Exile finds Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins performing as tribute acts to their former selves, like a through-the-looking-glass episode of Stars In Your Eyes. It is gloriously absurd.
Until It Happens To You is also silly in all the right ways, as Jeff Goldblum & The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra join Puth in chaotically, and cheerfully, dismantling Walking On Sunshine.
Sideways, with Coco Jones, is the album’s sweepingly cinematic, soulful standout, a moment where the formula falls away completely and something genuinely great briefly emerges.
But that song aside, once you’ve heard one slice of ‘Whatever’s Clever!’ you have heard essentially heard them all. The jangle-pop guitars, the lush production, the smooth-soul touchstones blur pleasantly, forgettably into one another.
Washed Up and New Jersey coast by on Puth’s candy floss charm alone, while I Used To Be Cringe, the album’s grand closing statement on Puth’s musical past, is a shallow pool, collecting same strummed acoustic chords countless pop acts have turned to for quick wins in the past 20 years.
‘Whatever's Clever!’ is well-crafted, well-intentioned, and almost entirely surface-level — the work of an artist who, it turns out, could do with embracing a bit of cringe. Marvin Gaye, and Puth’s overtly pop debut ‘Nine Track Mind’ turn 10 this year and people are still playing it, loudly and unashamedly. Without labouring a point, there’s a lesson there.
Charlie Puth Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Wed July 15 2026 - LONDON Eventim Apollo
Sat July 18 2026 - BIRMINGHAM O2 Academy Birmingham
Sun July 19 2026 - DUBLIN Iveagh Gardens
Tue July 21 2026 - EDINBURGH Usher Hall
Wed July 22 2026 - MANCHESTER Academy
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