Charlie Puth Reveals the Harsh Criticism He Got From Elton John

Giving painfully honest opinions—that’s what friends are for.

In an April 13 interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Charlie Puth reflected on criticism he received from Elton John that caused him to reevaluate himself as an artist.

“When you write a song, it’s important to tell the truth, and I wasn’t kinda doing that in 2019. And the person who kind of awoken my senses was none other than Elton John,” Charlie explained. He said that he first met Elton at Craig’s restaurant in L.A. and that the “Rocket Man” singer told him, “You know, your music sucked in 2019. It wasn’t good.”

So how did Charlie take this brutal, unsolicited feedback?

“It was like a gut punch, but I had been thinking that as well. It was kind of a wake-up call,” Charlie said. “I was in denial a little bit and then the whole world shut down and I was able to kinda sit with my new way of making music and just decided that I would never put out a song again if it weren’t the truth.”