Charlie Puth Reacts to Taylor Swift Unexpectedly 'Name-Dropping' Him In Her New Song: "That’s Cool"

Charlie Puth found himself in a surreal situation when he learned that Taylor Swift had name-dropped him in her song The Tortured Poets Department. In a candid interview, Puth opened up about his initial disbelief and how the mention gave him the courage to release his latest single, Hero.

When a friend first informed Puth that Swift had referenced him in her new song, he was skeptical. He said, “My brain immediately went to ‘Oh, like in an interview or something. That’s cool. I love Taylor Swift,' I’m going to wake up tomorrow and it was just a big joke that someone was playing on me because someone thinks I shouldn’t be a bigger artist, so get the biggest artist since the Beatles to say that I should be a bigger artist. Ha ha ha.”

However, upon hearing the song, where Swift sings, “You smoked, then ate seven bars of chocolate/We declared Charlie Puth should be a bigger artist,” Puth was taken aback. The unexpected shout-out made him reflect on his career and the choices he had made.

He remarked, “My first thought was like, ‘Wow. She said my name.’ She kind of said it like P-O-O-T-H and I just cried, dude. It was surreal because it’s never good to look back, but I feel like I could have done things a little differently in the past, but it’s all meant to happen now.”

This moment of recognition from Swift played a prominent role in Puth's decision to release Hero, a song with a raw and stripped-down production. He said, "Just because all my stuff usually has so many f---ing layers, I’m like, 'Is this song too simple'?' There’s three sounds. I recorded this guitar with a f---ing iPhone. It’s the first time that’s happened to me where I didn’t feel the need to add more," as reported by People magazine.

He further added, “No idea. I was in complete denial, too, because there was no way this could be a thing. It’s so random. But then again, I’m listening to the song and I’m like, ‘It’s not random. It’s probably about a real conversation she had with somebody.’ And I thought to myself, ‘Why don’t I get hyper-specific in my lyrics ever? Because I’m so concerned about a song being a hit? No.’ I feel like I owe it to myself to make a song where people really know the true backstory of something.”

He confessed, "I’d say if it weren’t for Taylor and her mentioning me, I probably wouldn’t have had the courage to put this out, which is a big statement. I know."

As per The Hollywood Reporter, Puth has yet to meet Swift in person since the song's release, but he did write her a note expressing his gratitude, “I was just like, ‘This means more, and I will take this newfound courage to put this new body of work out.’ Again, I was working on it already, but I was just unsure and it’s cool to get a stamp of approval from an artist that you have idolized for such a long time and still do.”

Puth added, “I’m just very thankful. I’m a broken record, but I’m very thankful for her shout-out because I really don’t know if I would’ve had the courage to put a song like this out. And all I needed was just that little ‘You’re good, put it out’ reminder. And I’m very excited for people to hear this kind of new side of me.”

Reflecting on his career, Puth agreed with the sentiment that he should be a "bigger artist." He remarked, “I think I should be. But to me, a bigger artist, I get to inspire more of my fans and people around the world to pick up an instrument. I’d love to be a bigger artist to inspire other people to be bigger artists.”