In her 2024 song “The Tortured Poets Department,” superstar Taylor Swift sings “You smokеd, then ate seven bars of chocolate / We declared Charlie Puth should be a bigger artist / I scratch your head, you fall asleep / Like a tattooed golden retriever.” If Charlie Puth has been underappreciated, the pool of Americans unfamiliar with his name is surely smaller after the Native New Jerseyan sang the national anthem at the Super Bowl in front of millions last night.
If you’re not familiar with the artist who grew up just a few miles from the Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music, read on.
Early Life and Career
Born Charles Otto Puth Jr. in Rumson, New Jersey, Puth’s musical roots go all the way back to childhood. His mother was a music teacher who introduced him to piano at age four, and he later attended the prestigious Berklee College of Music.
Puth first gained major attention on YouTube, where early cover videos showcased his vocal range and musicality. That exposure helped lead to a recording career that exploded in the mid-2010s with a string of global hits. His breakthrough came as the co-writer and featured vocalist on “See You Again” with Wiz Khalifa—a tribute to the late Paul Walker that spent weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 and became one of the best-selling singles worldwide.
He followed that success with memorable pop hits like “Marvin Gaye,” “One Call Away,” “We Don’t Talk Anymore,” “Attention,” and, more recently, “Light Switch.” Puth is known not just for his voice but for his songwriting and production chops—he’s co-written and produced for himself and other artists across genres.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Puth cites fellow New Jerseyan Bruce Springsteen as a major influence, noting in an interview with Forbes that, “I want those anthemic songs that Bruce sings at his shows. I want those at my shows as well.” Watch Charlie discuss (and play) Bruce on the Howard Stern Show in 2022:
A key interactive in our new building, set to open in late spring, will explore artists, like Charlie, who have been influenced by Bruce; as well as those earlier artists who influenced “The Boss” himself. Influence, after all, is at the heart of how music moves through time. By mapping these relationships, the interactive reveals Springsteen as both student and teacher—absorbing what came before him while inspiring new generations of musicians to find their own voices.
Super Bowl LX
This week, Puth joined a long line of talented artists to have sung the anthem at the Super Bowl, to include Diana Ross (1982), Barry Manilow (1984), Neil Diamond (1987), Billy Joel (1989), Garth Brooks (1993), Cher (1999), Faith Hill (2000), the Backstreet Boys (2001), Mariah Carey (2002), Beyonce (2004), Carrie Underwood (2010), Alicia Keys (2013), and Lady Gaga (2016).
Fellow New Jerseyan Whitney Houston’s 1991 rendition remains one of the most iconic national anthem performances ever sung.
But back to Charlie: Offstage, he’s in an exciting phase of life: married to his longtime, New Jersey friend Brooke Sansone and expecting their first child, all while preparing the release of his fourth studio album Whatever’s Clever! this spring.
We wish our neighbor Charlie all the best with his assuredly very bright future and hope he stops by for a tour the next time he’s in the Garden State!
Melissa Ziobro
Director of Curatorial Affairs
Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music
Monmouth University
February 9, 2026