Charlie Puth is a pop star. Yes, loads of screaming girls greet his every stage appearance. Yes, he’s had a run in the tabloids around 2017, focusing on his romantic endeavors. But Charlie Puth is first and foremost a serious musician. Old-school serious. He’s classically trained, knows music theory. He’s also “hip hop trained,” having a deep appreciation for the genre. In 2015, his collaboration with Wiz Khalifa, See You Again, hit number one in America. The next year, he released his debut album Nine Track Mind, which went to number 6 on the Billboard 200. He does have a song named LA Girls on his breakthrough record Voicenotes, released four years ago, but it shouldn’t distract from his more important collaboration with James Taylor, the socially-conscious Change. We we sat down with the music prodigy to talk music, strange chords and nice watches.