Charlie Puth vividly remembers the first time he heard Britney Spears‘ 2003 hit “Toxic.”
“I was in sixth grade, and I was just like, ‘This is such a fascinating production with the strings layered with the fast-paced drums,’” Puth, 33, exclusively tells Us Weekly in a new interview promoting his “INKubator” songwriting contest with BIC. “I didn’t really even understand music production back then, but I knew it sounded urgent.”
In fact, Puth cites the Grammy-winning track as the inspiration for his own career in pop music.
“It was probably the catalyst,” he muses.
Puth has never been shy about giving Spears, 43, her flowers over the years.
“I remember trading Pokémon cards in 1999 and hearing ‘… Baby One More Time,’ but I didn’t really know how to process it in my little boy brain,” he recalled on “Elvis Duran and the Morning Show” in 2018. “And when I heard ‘Oops! … I Did It Again,’ I was like, ‘This is a sexy woman singing a really good song.’ … It was just incredible at the time — and it still is incredible.”
Although Spears has vowed to “never return to the music industry” following the 2021 termination of her 13-year conservatorship, Puth says he would jump at the opportunity to produce a song for the Princess of Pop should she ever change her mind.
“I think I would do a good job,” he tells Us.
For now, though, Puth is focused on creating the follow-up to his 2022 album, Charlie.
“Life is inspiring me,” he shares. “There’s been a lot of changes in my life, and I’ve always wanted to be in a situation where I can apply music notes to those real-life situations, and I feel like I’m doing that a lot lately. … Things are in more color. Things are brighter in my life.”
Puth further teases, “What I have coming is probably my most important body of work, and I’m very excited about it.”
As a singer, Puth is best known for hits including “See You Again,” “One Call Away” and “Attention,” but he has also written tracks for artists such as Katy Perry, John Legend and Justin Bieber — all while using his trusty BIC 4-Color Ballpoint Pen.
“If I don’t like something, I’m gonna scratch it out in red. But if something’s urgent, I’ll also write it in red,” he explains. “I find that when I write lyrics in my own handwriting, things seem to flow better. When I’m just typing something out, it doesn’t feel like there’s as much personality to it.”
Plus, the iconic, 55-year-old pen makes Puth feel nostalgic.
“Back-to-school shopping is one of my favorite [memories],” he says. “The smell of fall, crisp apples and pumpkins in the air. It’s exciting. I still get a thrill off of that. I’ll go into a Staples, and I’ll, like, smell the paper.”
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