Tour photos by Matthew Belter
Review by Jennie Book
@jenniebookphotography

Charlie Puth hit the Honda Center in Anaheim on April 28 with a show that felt bigger, looser, and more musically ambitious than anything he’s done before. On his Whatever’s Clever World Tour, he’s moved away from straightforward pop and more towards real musicianship, and the result is arenas full of all-ages fan appeal.

Before Puth came onstage, we got an opening set from Ally Salort, followed by Daniel Seavey. Salort was confident on the big stage and had a strong voice with great song choices. Her cover of the Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris” was a clear crowd pleaser, and she definitely left with more fans than she came in with.

Daniel Seavey is a seasoned pro, first appearing on American Idol as a young teenager, then as one fifth of the boyband Why Don’t We before the group’s premature end due to legal issues. He reminded everyone of that experience by building parts of his set live, looping songs while moving between drums, keys, guitar, and cello, all of which he handled with ease. At one point he asked the crowd for song suggestions, landed on “Baby Girl” by Dominic Fike, and after watching a quick clip on a fan’s phone recreated it live on the spot. He closed by singing up close with a fan at the barricade who’d been fully locked in the entire time, and it’s safe to say she walked away with a core memory.

Puth is known as a pop singer with perfect pitch, but this set leaned a lot into jazz and R&B. The hits are still there—“Attention,” “We Don’t Talk Anymore”—but with the tight and collaborating ensemble of musicians he’s assembled, it became a master class in musicianship that somehow still felt intimate, even in an 18,000-capacity arena.

The crowd fed off both sides of that balance. They belted back his radio songs about love and heartbreak, but also seemed just as engaged with newer material centered on growth and joy, themes that feel at least partly shaped by him becoming a dad in recent months.

Visually, the show was fun, with dynamic motion graphics that framed both the band and the front of the stage, where Puth spent a lot of time at the piano. At one point, a giant radio dial stretched across the front, and then an oversized Charlie Puth head opened hinge-like in the background to reveal a cascade of instruments, a good amount of surreal without feeling overproduced.

Late in the set, things slowed down. “One Call Away” brought a more emotional feel, followed by “See You Again,” his breakout collaboration with Wiz Khalifa. Everyone in the crowd knew that one, and it turned the arena into a sea of voices and phone lights.

Over the last decade, Puth has carved out a specific lane for himself. He’s had massive pop success, built a fanbase through his “Professor Puth” social series where he breaks down music theory, he’s popped up at the Super Bowl, and he’s become a late night TV show favorite thanks to both his talent and personality. There’s a musical savant quality to him, but he balances it by being an approachable Everyman who just happens to have perfect pitch and global reach.

He closed with “Changes,” which felt fitting given where he is right now– a new father with a big tour and an evolving sound. If this Anaheim show was any indication, fans are fully on board with where he’s headed.

The Whatever’s Clever tour continues across North America through mid-June before heading to Europe later that month. For dates, tickets, and merch, visit www.charlieputh.com.