Charlie Puth has made the album he has been circling for years. ‘Whatever’s Clever!’ is out now via Atlantic Records, a 13-track fourth studio album co-produced with BloodPop that finds Puth setting aside the hitmaker armor and getting genuinely personal. “Audiences knew my music more than they knew me because I never really gave them a chance to know me,” he says. “This is the chance.” The record covers his brother, his father, his wife, and people who are no longer in his life, steeped in the warmth of Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins, and Philip Bailey, built around analog textures and a deliberate commitment to human imperfection over digital precision.
The collaborators assembled here are extraordinary and each one earns their place. “Love In Exile” pairs Puth with Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins in a yacht rock gem that sounds like it was pulled from the best possible version of 1982. “Until It Happens To You” features a non-memorized spoken word monologue from Jeff Goldblum, delivered from the heart to his own sons. “Sideways,” the album’s lead single featuring Coco Jones, is a blissed-out 90s R&B love song that the two debuted live at Blue Note LA last winter and performed together last night on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Hikaru Utada appears on “Home,” Ravyn Lenae on “New Jersey,” and Kenny G on “Cry.”
“Hey Brother” stands as one of the album’s most quietly powerful moments, Puth directly addressing his younger brother Stephen for the first time in song. “I wish you could see in you what you see in me,” he sings, and the discomfort behind writing it only adds to its weight. BloodPop pushed Puth toward sounds and subjects he had previously avoided, and the results justify every uncomfortable moment in the studio.
Puth also opened Super Bowl LX last month with a nationally praised rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” backed by an orchestra and Kenny G. The Whatever’s Clever! World Tour launches April 22 at San Diego’s Viejas Arena, runs through North America until mid-June, then moves to Europe and the UK through late July.
‘Whatever’s Clever!’ Track List:
- Changes
- Beat Yourself Up
- Cry (feat. Kenny G)
- Washed Up
- New Jersey (feat. Ravyn Lenae)
- Don’t Meet Your Heroes
- Home (feat. Hikaru Utada)
- Hey Brother
- Sideways (feat. Coco Jones)
- Love in Exile (feat. Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins)
- Until It Happens to You (feat. Jeff Goldblum)
- I Used to Be Cringe
2026 North American Tour Dates:
Apr 22 – San Diego, CA – Viejas Arena
Apr 24 – Phoenix, AZ – Arizona Financial Theatre
Apr 25 – Santa Barbara, CA – Santa Barbara Bowl
Apr 28 – Anaheim, CA – Honda Center
Apr 29 – Los Angeles, CA – Kia Forum
May 1 – San Francisco, CA – Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
May 3 – Seattle, WA – WAMU Theater @ Lumen Field
May 5 – Vancouver, BC – Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre
May 7 – Portland, OR – Veterans Memorial Coliseum
May 9 – Salt Lake City, UT – Maverik Center
May 10 – Denver, CO – Bellco Theatre
May 13 – Kansas City, MO – Starlight Theatre
May 15 – Rosemont, IL – Rosemont Theatre
May 16 – Minneapolis, MN – The Armory
May 19 – Detroit, MI – Fox Theatre
May 20 – Hamilton, ON – TD Coliseum
May 22 – Boston, MA – MGM Music Hall at Fenway
May 23 – Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena
May 26 – Fairfax, VA – EagleBank Arena
May 29 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
May 30 – Atlantic City, NJ – Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena
Jun 1 – Charlotte, NC – Spectrum Center
Jun 3 – Atlanta, GA – Synovus Bank Amphitheater at Chastain Park
Jun 5 – Hollywood, FL – Hard Rock Live
Jun 6 – Orlando, FL – Addition Financial Arena
Jun 9 – Nashville, TN – Ascend Amphitheater
Jun 11 – Austin, TX – Moody Center
Jun 12 – Irving, TX – The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
Jun 13 – Houston, TX – 713 Music Hall
2026 European & UK Tour Dates:
Jun 27 – Odense, Denmark – Tinderbox *
Jun 30 – Stockholm, Sweden – Gröna Lund
Jul 1 – Helsinki, Finland – Allas Live
Jul 3 – Larvik, Norway – Stavern Festival *
Jul 5 – Hamburg, Germany – Stadtpark Open Air
Jul 6 – Frankfurt, Germany – Jahrhunderthalle
Jul 8 – Barcelona, Spain – Barts Festival *
Jul 9 – Madrid, Spain – Mad Cool Festival *
Jul 13 – Paris, France – Olympia
Jul 15 – London, UK – Eventim Apollo
Jul 18 – Birmingham, UK – O2 Academy
Jul 19 – Dublin, Ireland – Iveagh Gardens
Jul 21 – Edinburgh, UK – Usher Hall
Jul 22 – Manchester, UK – Manchester Academy
Jul 24 – Pompei, Italy – Anfiteatro di Pompei
Jul 25 – Cernobbio, Italy – Villa Erba
Jul 27 – Budapest, Hungary – Budapest Park
Jul 28 – Prague, Czechia – Forum Karlín
Jul 30 – Warsaw, Poland – Progresja Summer Stage
- Festival appearance