Giving painfully honest opinions—that’s what friends are for.

An interview with the author on April 13. Ellen DeGeneres Show, Charlie PuthHe reflected upon the criticism he had received Elton JohnThis caused him to evaluate his abilities as an artist.

When you’re writing songs, it’s crucial to tell the truth. And I wasn’t doing that in 2019. Charlie explained that Elton John was the one who “kind of woken me up.” Elton told Charlie that Craig was his first encounter with him in L.A., and that the rock star of “Rocket Man” said to him that Elton’s music “sucked in 2019”. It wasn’t.

Charlie received this unsolicited, brutal feedback.

Although it was a punch to the gut, I knew that this would happen. Charlie described it as a wake up call. “I went through a period of denial, and then everything stopped. Then I could just sit back and accept my new style and decide that I will never release another song.