Loser

Album: Charlie (2022)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Here, Charlie Puth beats himself up for allowing his romantic partner to slip away. He didn't pay her enough attention and wasn't around when she needed him. She was Puth's one in a million dream girl, but the pop star messed things up and now he's struggling to move on.
  • Puth co-wrote "Loser" with his regular writing partner Jacob Kasher. He produced the song himself.
  • Puth revealed that the creation of "Loser" started with its title when he was having a shower. He recalled a romantic relationship that he messed up and made him feel like a loser. "I'm a singer living in LA, I'm seeing too many people and I'm a loser," Puth remembered to Apple Music. "I followed up with, 'How'd I ever lose her?' And it just happens to rhyme."
  • Puth released "Loser" as the seventh single from Charlie on October 7, 2022, the same day the album came out. Inspired by a breakup in 2019, he wrote for the record, "feelings first, music to follow."

    "These thoughts spin in my head like a dishwasher," Puth explained to Apple Music. "I put them against a beat, add some melody, and when the song is finished, it's like putting a letter in a glass bottle and sending it off into the ocean."
  • The singer plays dueling characters in the crazy Wild West-themed video with no clear storyline. Puth said he was warned against making the video, which makes no sense in the song's context. "I just wanted to make it," he told Billboard Pop Shop podcast. "There is no story. I don't preface anything as to why the two are dueling or battling."

    "Several famous directors have reached out to my creative director and said 'I didn't know Charlie acted!' So maybe I did a good job," Puth added. "I was told that I should never make a video like that."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Sarah Brightman

Sarah BrightmanSongwriter Interviews

One of the most popular classical vocalists in the land is lining up a trip to space, which is the inspiration for many of her songs.

Edie Brickell

Edie BrickellSongwriter Interviews

Edie Brickell on her collaborations with Paul Simon, Steve Martin and Willie Nelson, and her 2021 album with the New Bohemians.

Trucking Songs That Were #1 Hits

Trucking Songs That Were #1 HitsSong Writing

The stories behind the biggest hit songs about trucking.

Grateful Dead Characters

Grateful Dead CharactersMusic Quiz

Many unusual folks appear in Grateful Dead songs. Can you identify them?

Angelo Moore of Fishbone

Angelo Moore of FishboneSongwriter Interviews

Fishbone has always enjoyed much more acclaim than popularity - Angelo might know why.

Director Paul Rachman on "Hunger Strike," "Man in the Box," Kiss

Director Paul Rachman on "Hunger Strike," "Man in the Box," KissSong Writing

After cutting his teeth on hardcore punk videos, Paul defined the grunge look with his work on "Hunger Strike" and "Man in the Box."