Charismatic Puth gives fans some joy amid tragedy

Charismatic Puth gives fans some joy amid tragedy

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Charismatic Puth gives  fans some joy amid tragedy
Charlie Puth Live in Bangkok 2016 Photo: soundbox

While the series of bombings on Mother's Day last Friday brought down the mood of the country, singer-songwriter and hitmaker Charlie Puth, for the brief moment he performed that night, gave the Bangkok crowd a much-needed boost of joy and positivity.

His smooth, velvety voice (which is even better live) and his cheeky, boyish charm caused roars of laughter and awws of endearment. He got the sold-out crowd at the GMM Live House to sing and dance in unison to both his hit and not-so hit songs.

Known best for writing Furious 7's tribute soundtrack See You Again, the 24 year old got his start on YouTube and only released his first full-track album Nine Track Mind in January of this year. His stop to Thailand may be a surprise to many, but he had his reasons for making his first trip here.

"When I first started YouTube, I noticed that there were so many Thai fans!" he mused after hyping up them up with first hit-song Marvin Gaye. "You guys led the way!"

The show, he said with clear excitement and gratitude, was sold-out in minutes, and was one of the biggest venue's he'd played so far.

The stage and lighting design was simple and did nothing to distract from the main reason fans were there: his voice. What was most memorable of the young singer was the use of the blue colour of different hues throughout the show as a tribute, he says, to Her Majesty the Queen's birthday. The blue headband that he wore, thought by many to get his hair out of his face, was a tribute to Her Majesty too.

After six songs, Puth switched it up to an acoustic set. Standing centre stage with only the spotlight on him, he sang Up All Night and Then There's You, with his voice mesmerising and almost silencing the crowd. He then switched back to his full set, riling up the crowd with staple songs for every radio station for the past year We Don't Talk and his last song of the night, One Call Away.

Leaving the audience hanging and chanting his name for more songs, Puth came back on stage a few minutes later and performed the song everyone was waiting for: See You Again. With the singer repeatedly expressing his desires to come back and perform at a bigger venue, the Bangkok crowd hopes the same, so he can bring back his infectious joy and happiness to our slightly troubled times.

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