By Mary Ann Bourbeau
RED BANK – After scoring two platinum singles, two American Music Awards, an MTV Music Award, a Golden Globe nomination and three Grammy nominations, Rumson’s native son Charlie Puth is coming home for a sold-out concert at the Count Basie Theatre on Friday.
“I think it will be pretty cool,” said Puth during a telephone interview from the tour for his debut album for Atlantic Records, Nine Track Mind. “This tour has been amazing. I’ve been playing for some great crowds, but I think the Basie will be the best one.”
Puth will surely sing his chart-topper, “See You Again,” which he co-wrote and recorded with rapper Wiz Khalifa. The song was featured in the soundtrack to the film “Furious 7,” topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 12 weeks and became a No. 1 hit in more than 100 countries. “Nine Track Mind,” which was released in January, has already produced several hits, including “One Call Away,” “Suffer” and “Marvin Gaye,” featuring pop star Meghan Trainor, with whom he toured last summer.
Puth’s next tour will take him to 13 European countries before heading back to the United States for a handful of shows, including a June 10 gig in Mercer County Park in West Windsor, followed by several dates in Japan.
“It’s been an amazing experience, having thousands of people singing along to my lyrics every night,” he said. “That in itself is incredible.”
Puth’s parents exposed him to music early on, playing artists such as James Taylor, Marvin Gaye and the Isley Brothers, as well as classical music. His mother, a piano teacher, got him started on the keyboards at the age of 4. Later on, he was a student at the Count Basie Theatre’s Performing Arts Academy, with the goal of being a jazz piano player. During high school, he studied on Saturdays at Manhattan School of Music, and later graduated from Berklee College of Music in Boston.
“I studied at a lot of conservatories, but the Basie is where I got my jazz chops,” he said. “It’s cool that I’m finally going to play there. I’m doing pop music now, but I’ve incorporated it with everything I’ve learned.”
In 2011, Ellen DeGeneres discovered Puth on YouTube and invited him on her talk show, and his star took off from there. In addition to singing and songwriting, Puth has produced songs for a number of artists including Lil Wayne, Jason Derulo, Stevie Wonder, Meghan Trainor, Trey Songz and Fergie. In 2014, he moved to Los Angeles and this past December, he bought his first home.
“Now I have to plant flowers and do the other things that homeowners do,” said the 24-year-old.
But those flowers will have to wait while he wraps up his current tour in the place where it all began – Red Bank’s Count Basie Theatre. The show will be attended by plenty of friends, relatives and fans, both old and new.
“My parents are coming, plus some college friends and my teachers from grade school and middle school,” said Puth. “The energy will be way, way up. I know it’s going to be a really special show.”
Opening for Puth will be Beyonce prodigy Sophie Beem, as well as Phoebe Ryan, who also hails from Rumson.
“I knew Phoebe from around town,” Puth said. “I’m happy to have her along for my tour. Rumson seems to be killing this year as far as putting out music.”
