Voicenotes

''Voicenotes'' is the second studio album by American singer Charlie Puth. Almost entirely produced by Puth himself, the album was released by Artist Partner Group and Atlantic Records on May 11, 2018. Five singles have been released from the album, including "Attention" and " How Long". "Attention" peaked at number 5 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and "How Long" peaked at number 21.

Puth delayed the album from an early 2018 release date to "perfect" it, including reshooting the album cover. He announced on social media that he would release the album cover and the song " The Way I Am" on May 3. Puth embarked on the Voicenotes Tour in support of the album in North America throughout July and August 2018.

Upon release, the album was commercially successful, peaking at number four on the ''Billboard'' 200, and received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised the mature songwriting and Puth's performance; many felt it was an improvement upon Puth's debut album ''Nine Track Mind''. The album received a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards.

Music

Puth described the sound of the album as "like walking down a dirt road and listening to New Edition in 1989 – and being heartbroken, of course." He also remarked that he wanted a sound akin to the late 1980s "dark R&B" of Babyface, Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis and Teddy Riley. Puth also stated the album will have no love ballads, explaining he wished to distance himself from the sound of his first album, which was "people nudging ein a direction that I didn't want to go in."

Promotion

Singles

"Attention", released as the first single from the album on April 21, 2017, was met with commercial success, peaking at number five on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. " How Long", released as the album's second single on October 5, 2017, peaked at number 21 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and reached the top 20 in several markets. "Done for Me", the third single, was released on March 15, 2018, and features Kehlani. "Change" featuring James Taylor was released as the fourth single on March 26, 2018. " The Way I Am" was released as the album's fifth single on July 24, 2018.

Promotional singles

"If You Leave Me Now", featuring Boyz II Men, was released as the album's first promotional single on January 5, 2018, after Puth delayed the album. "The Way I Am" was released as the second promotional single on May 3, 2018, along with the new album cover.

Critical reception

''Voicenotes'' received generally positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 67 based on five reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". In a positive review of the album, Spencer Kornhaber of ''The Atlantic'' called ''Voicenotes'' a "guilty pleasure" and noted that Puth is not aiming for Ed Sheeran "everyguy relatability". Taylor Weatherby of ''Billboard'' named ''Voicenotes'' the album of the week, praising Puth's rawness, and the collaborations included on the album. Mark Kennedy of ''The Washington Post'' praised the album, calling it "perfect pop", and stating that Puth has a fantastic career in front of him. In another positive review of the album, Nicholas Hautman of ''Us Weekly'' called the album "perfect for the summer", and called it "perfectly crafted".

In a mixed review of the album, Brittany Spanos of the ''Rolling Stone'' gave the album three out of five stars, saying "Puth's efforts to transition from a more mature R&B valiant, but he needed a little more work to be compared to the likes of Justin Timberlake and Nick Jonas."

Commercial performance

''Voicenotes'' debuted at number four on the US ''Billboard'' 200 with 58,000 album-equivalent units of which 39,000 were pure album sales. On May 14, 2018, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for combined sales and album-equivalent units of over 500,000 units in the United States.

In 2018, ''Voicenotes'' was ranked as the 130th most popular album of the year on the ''Billboard'' 200.

Track listing

Credits adapted from liner notes.

All tracks are written and produced by Charlie Puth, except where noted.

Notes
* signifies a co-producer
* signifies an additional producer
* "Boy" is stylized in uppercase letters

Sample credits
* "If You Leave Me Now" contains an interpolation of "I Thought She Knew" by NSYNC
* "Slow It Down" contains an interpolation of "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" by Hall & Oates

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes.

Musicians
* Charlie Puth – vocals, bass , instruments
* Kehlani – featured vocals
* Boyz II Men – featured vocals
* James Taylor – featured vocals
* Jan Ozveren – guitar
* Dmitry Gorodetsky – bass
* Carl Falk – bass
* Johan Carlsson – instruments

Production
* Charlie Puth – production
* Rickard Göransson – production
* Jason Evigan – additional production
* Johan Carlsson – co-production

Technical personnel
* Charlie Puth – recording ,mixing
* Ryan Gladieux – Kehlani vocals recording
* Manny Marroquin – mixing
* Chris Galland – mixing assistance
* Jeff Jackson – mixing assistance
* Dave Kutch – mastering
* Carolyn Tracey – project manager

Artwork
* Alex R. Kirzhner – design
* Jimmy Fontaine – photography
* Billy Walsh – styling
* Michael Kanyon – grooming
* Madison Blue – grooming

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

References

{{Authority control

2018 albums
Albums recorded in a home studio
Atlantic Records albums
Charlie Puth albums
Albums produced by Jason Evigan
Albums produced by Johan Carlsson