Cry Lyrics – Charlie Puth | from “Whatever’s Clever!”

Charlie Puth is mapping his most unguarded swing yet with Whatever’s Clever!, the album he’s been piecing together in real time on his Professor Puth YouTube series, eyeing a spring 2026 drop via Atlantic Records, and Cry, that whiteboard scribble from Episode 2, feels primed to crack things open as track one, a slow-build gut punch that lingers like the sting after you’ve held it in too long.

Puth has this knack for turning everyday heartaches into hooks you hum through the hurt, and Cry seems built on that foundation. From the little he’s shown—chalked up top on that studio board amid sketches for the full tracklist—it’s got his classic pop sheen but with a rawer edge, starting sparse on piano before layering in those silky falsetto runs and a beat that swells just enough to mimic holding back tears. Expect themes of quiet regret, the kind where you replay what-ifs alone at night, blended with his evolving R&B lean that nods to his Joji collabs without losing the accessibility.

He teased it casually in Ep 2 last month, strumming a rough chord progression while chatting production tricks, saying it came from a late-night voice memo after a tough call with an old flame. No collaborators named yet, but knowing Puth, it’ll carry that solo-vocal intimacy he honed on Charlie.

This one’s poised to kick off Whatever’s Clever!’s 12-track arc, a project he’s framing as clever takes on love’s curveballs—from the playful rebounds to the ones that leave you wrecked. The whiteboard reveal spilled partial details: Cry leading into something called Heart on Hold around track [three], with a mid-album breather teased as Laugh Lines that flips the script to lighter vibes. The whole thing’s shaping up as his most narrative-driven since Voicenotes, clocking around 45 minutes of polished pop with surprises like a string section on the closer.

Puth is riding this wave of reinvention right now, three years past his self-titled pivot that stripped back the gloss for something realer, and fresh off those intimate theater runs where he unpacked songwriting scars onstage. At 33, with a hand in producing for half of TikTok’s soundtracks, he’s less the teen-pop wunderkind and more the guy who gets how vulnerability sells out rooms. Whatever’s Clever! looks like him leaning further into that, trading some polish for punches that land personal.

X perked up after Ep 2 aired, with clips of the whiteboard zooming in on Cry’s spot and fans theorizing it’s his next Slow Hands-level earworm, threads full of “professor dropping bars disguised as lessons.” If Charlie was the reset, this album might just be the revelation.

Dive into the Cry lyrics below and unpack its raw narrative. Don’t miss other Whatever’s Clever! tracks for more of Charlie Puth’s tender sting.