Charlie Puth Reveals Elton John Said His Music Was ‘Not Good’ – Billboard

Charlie Puth is proud to say that he had the opportunity to collaborate with Elton John for the iconic artist’s The Lockdown Sessions, but he revealed that the English pop veteran initially had some harsh criticism for his music before they started working together.

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During the “Light Switch” singer’s appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show on Monday (Feb. 7), he explained how working with John came to be, and shared how the “Cold Heart” singer felt about the quality of Puth’s previous work. “Elton texted me his address when he first expressed that he wanted to work with me, which was great. He was brutally honest with me,” Puth said. “He told me my 2019 music sucked, and I agree with him. It was not good.”

The 30-year-old was not upset over John’s opinion, though. “He basically said I could make a lot better music, and he said that I should just make it myself, like I always do,” he added. “I was like, ‘Wow, you’re the first person that ever said that to me,’ but I was thinking the exact same thing when he said that.”

The criticism did not hinder Puth and John’ s ability to make music with each other. The English singer enlisted Puth to work on “After All” from The Lockdown Sessions. “After All” was released as the second single from the album, which peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard 200. The collection of collaborative songs — which also featured Dua Lipa, Nicki Minaj, Miley Cyrus and more — spent a total of 14 weeks on the chart.

Watch Puth’s appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show below.