Charlie Puth explores the complexities of being a “Hero” in his latest single, released on Friday (May 24).
“My new song ‘HERO’ is about witnessing someone you love causing harm to themselves and destroying the good things in their life, but feeling powerless to help them,” the artist explained earlier this week, accompanied by the cover art showing him in a serene rose garden. “I’m thrilled to share my upcoming album with you, especially this track, as it’s a strong indication of what’s to come.”
Puth mentioned that the inspiration partly came from Taylor Swift’s praise on her album “The Tortured Poets Department“. “I’ve never released a song like this before,” he noted. “It’s a new direction for me, but I have to thank Taylor Swift for encouraging me musically to finally share it.” Swift’s album, included the line, “We declared Charlie Puth should be a bigger artist,” on the title track. Shortly after the album’s debut, Puth teased “Hero” on TikTok, saying, “These past few weeks have been intense for obvious reasons, but I wanted to share something with you.”
“I sometimes feel anxious about being too honest in my music, which is why this song stayed on my hard drive for so long,” he continued. “But I felt a nudge from the universe to release it. So…. I’m announcing that ‘Hero’ will be out everywhere on May 24th as the lead single from my new album. Thank you for your support…you know who you are.”
“Hero” follows Puth’s recent tracks “Lose My Breath” with Stray Kids, “Lipstick” and “That’s Not How This Works” with Dan + Shay and Sabrina Carpenter.