Flonique Guimary

Charlie Puth reacts to unexpected shoutout from Taylor Swift in 'The Tortured Poets Department' song

Article (news)

E. Kristhoff Cagape

Push Team

<p>Charlie Puth has reacted to the unexpected shoutout he received from Taylor Swift in her song &quot;The Tortured Poets Department.&quot;</p><p>In the track, Taylor sings the line: &quot;We declared Charlie Puth should be a bigger artist.&quot;</p><p>Speaking in an interview with <em>Rolling Stone</em>, Charlie admitted that he was surprised to hear his name referenced in the song.</p><p>&quot;It was pretty shocking. I don&#x27;t know if that was like the moment where I realized that I needed to write a certain kind of music, but it was definitely affirming that one of the biggest stars in the world knows me,&quot; he remarked.</p><p>Reflecting further on the lyric, the singer-songwriter shared how he interpreted Taylor&#x27;s words. &quot;I understood exactly what she meant to be a &#x27;bigger artist.&#x27; I think you have to let people in a little bit more and maybe to your point, I hadn&#x27;t let people in as much as I should have in the beginnings of my career.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-4" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/DPjeId0ERwm/embed/captioned/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=607&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A4%2C%22os%22%3A11962376.700000048%2C%22ls%22%3A318347.7000000477%2C%22le%22%3A318720.2000000477%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="1050" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-4" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><p>&quot;The Tortured Poets Department&quot; track is from the 11th studio album of Taylor with the same title. The album was released in April 2024 and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 2.61 million equivalent album units.</p><p>Meanwhile, Charlie is set to release his new studio album <em>Whatever&#x27;s Clever!</em> on March 6.</p><p>He announced the news back in October 2025. &quot;I&#x27;ve poured everything I have into this album. I can&#x27;t wait for you to hear it,&quot; he posted on Instagram.</p><p>He released the lead single off the album in October of last year titled &quot;Changes.&quot;</p><p>In the music video for &quot;Changes,&quot; Charlie announced that he is expecting his first child with wife Brooke Sansone as the latter revealed her baby bump in a portion of the video. The couple tied the knot in September 2024.</p><p>Charlie is set to embark on a tour this year beginning April with stops including the US, Canada, and Europe.</p>

<p>Charlie Puth has addressed the surprise mention he received from Taylor Swift in her song 'The Tortured Poets Department.'</p>

Charlie Puth has addressed the surprise mention he received from Taylor Swift in her song 'The Tortured Poets Department.'