Charlie Puth Steps Into The Past With Reflective ‘I Used To Be Cringe’ On ‘Kimmel’

Charlie Puth served as the musical guest on the latest episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live. Puth served up a performance of “I Used To Be Cringe,” a standout track from his 2026 album, Whatever's Clever!

Whatever’s Clever!, Puth’s first full-length effort since 2022’s Charlie, came out on March 27. The singer-songwriter celebrated the release of the 12-track LP one night prior by bringing the album’s “Sideways” to Jimmy Kimmel Live. Puth also taped a performance of “I Used To Be Cringe,” which finally aired last night as part of an episode featuring guest host Tiffany Haddish.

The 34-year-old wrote “I Used To Be Cringe” when looking back on past versions of himself. There was “so much inauthenticity,” Puth recalled on how he presented himself to the public in an interview with Rolling Stone.

Charlie Puth explained how “I Used To Cringe” came to him to Rolling Stone, stating:

I remember it was my wife Brooke’s birthday. I was on my way to this wonderful restaurant in Sherman Oaks, and these songs will just pop into my head. And I heard this lyric called “I Used to Be Cringe.” And the title itself is cringey. It’s like, “What do you mean?” You can smell the comments, as they say — “Used to be?” I’m like, “That’s an interesting song title. What would that sound like?” And I’m just talking to myself while Brooke’s on her phone. It’s like a 30-minute drive down the hill, and I just start writing this whole song in F major. And it has a very flowy McCartney-esque chord progression. And it’s all just because Taylor [Swift] had said something about me. It gave me enough excitement to write another song in my head. And now we’re ending the album with that.

Watch Charlie Puth perform “I Used To Be Cringe” on Jimmy Kimmel Live below:

Puth is currently on the road in Europe as part of his Whatever's Clever World Tour. He’ll then spend the fall touring Asia and Oceania.