You may
not know his
face (yet), but you probably know his work. Charlie Puth is a singer,
songwriter, and producer who has written and produced songs for an
array of A-list pop and urban artists, including Jason Derulo, Stevie
Wonder, Meghan Trainor and Trey Songz among others. Most recently,
Puth co-wrote, co-produced and sings the hook on Wiz Khalifa’s
chart-topping hip-hop anthem “See You Again,” which plays in the
final scene of the motion picture Furious 7 and is a highlight of the
soundtrack. “See You Again” has reached No. 1 in over 90
countries across the globe including the U.S., with the coveted No. 1
positions on the Billboard Hot 100 and Shazam.
Puth himself is
the real deal, a multi-talented vocalist, musician, producer, and
versatile songwriter who shuttles easily between the pop and urban
realms. Puth first fell in love with music growing up by the shore in
Rumson, New Jersey. “I didn’t grow up wealthy,” he says. “We
couldn't even afford spaghetti sauce when I was first born, but my
mom and dad worked really hard and came from the bottom up.” He
credits his supportive parents for his early music education, citing
his idol James Taylor as his primary influence. “My mom would put
headphones on her belly and play his records to me while she was
pregnant,” he says. Later on, Puth’s father exposed him to R&B
artists like Barry White, The Isley Brothers, and Marvin Gaye, while
his mother, a piano teacher, played him classical music and began
teaching him piano when he was four years old.