“Light Switch” by Charlie Puth, Thursday, June 15, 2023

Like Rick Beato explains in his provocatively titled video "What's Wrong with Charlie Puth's Single" (see below), I was shocked that such an earworm didn't chart very well. Beato's commentary in the video is a dig at other musical trends--trap beats, explicit lyrics, and multiple songwriters--which contribute to a pop song's success. I don't completely agree with Beato's assessment of "Light Switch" and pop music in general, but the question remains why such an instant sing-along melody didn't chart higher than number 27 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. Of course, there's just so much music out there vying for our attention.

ALL THE SUDDEN I'M HYPNOTIZED. Beato's liking for Charlie Puth is even puzzling for some of the YouTuber's viewers. There are many other music YouTubers and Podcasters who call out Beato's biased views. Maybe it's pop music filtered through his kids' tastes that he got turned on to Puth and the young artist's song production; however, Beato does not extend a lot of praise to other artists like, say, Ed Sheeran who arguably has a comparable approach to songwriting and production only with a much larger song catalogue. For example, of "Light Switch," Beato said that because Charlie Puth has perfect pitch, the autotune he uses on his voice is an interesting effect. But another time, Beato criticized Sheeran who also used autotune on the single "Bad Habits." But rather than harping on the unfairness in Beato's assessments, we can celebrate the talent that Puth brings to music. His fans get an insight into how music is recorded when Puth releases videos showing his "voice notes"--ingredients--samples--that mix into a delicious finished musical entree. It's often very, very sweet. But there's a lot going on.

I DON'T WANNA FIGHT THIS. While there might be a lot going on musically in "Light Switch"--disco guitar, an extremely fast beat, uncommon chords in pop music--the lyrics are quite simple. Like many of the songs on Charlie, Puth's third album, "Light Switch" deals with the same themes of "We Don't Talk Anymore" and "Attention." This theme: a girl who gives mixed signals, showing the speaker signs of admiration in private but acting as if it never happened when the speaker meets her in public. The story depicted in the music video, though, is worth some discussion. In the video, we see a transformation of a young man, played by Puth, from a chubby shut-in, depressed about a girl who broke his heart, to a fit powerhouse of energy. The transformation? Billy Blanks, a famous Tae Bo martial artist and aerobic personality from the '90s, trains the young man, guiding him to make positive decisions. Eventually, Puth stands outside his ex's door singing only for her ex's new boyfriend to come to the door. Ironically, she's with a man who looked like Puth before the transformation. Today, the video has an existential meaning to it. I wonder how much I've been training for the wrong thing? How much have I been training for the a past, pre-pandemic reality. I finely got off my couch and put down the potato chips and set a new goal, but as I get closer to that goal, I realize how much farther away it is than in 2019. What does Blanks encourage Charlie to do next? Sometimes these major setbacks make us want to go back to the couch, but isn't it much better to be young and healthy? Isn't there a new goal you can chase?

Read “Light Switch” by Charlie Puth on Genius