When pop singer-songwriter Charlie Puth began visiting Los Angeles in the early 2010s, he remembers landing at a house near Mount Olympus with an incredible view. Although he had recently become a legal adult, he had already built a following as a YouTuber, posting covers and singing intro songs for popular creators on the platform. That day in Laurel Canyon, he looked out at the sprawling metropolis.
“And in a very 'Entourage' way, I thought, one day I'm going to live here and make it in the city,” he said.
In Sunday Funday, the people of Los Angeles tell us step by step their ideal Sunday in the city. Find ideas and inspiration on where to go, what to eat and how to enjoy life on the weekends.
Today, the Grammy-nominated hitmaker has charted 13 songs on the Billboard Hot 100, worked with everyone from Elton John to Selena Gomez, and is considered underrated by the world's most famous pop star. Starting this week, he also has his own highly improvised six-episode Roku Original comedy series, “The Charlie Puth Show,” where the New Jersey native parodies the absurdity of the entertainment industry.
“We make fun of the atrocious, remorseless agents who say, 'You've sold millions of records, but it's time to make a reality show,'” he said.
And until his recent move to Santa Barbara, Puth fulfilled his dream of living in Los Angeles, where he still often spends his Sundays chasing caloric Valhalla and doing “the opposite” of his job so “he can stay sane.” Below, the “Hero” singer shares his ideal Sunday in Los Angeles.
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for length and clarity.
7 am: get up and sweat
I'm waking up. I walk Carla Ridge or run Loma Vista in Trousedale [Estates]and get exhausted. That's about an hour. Just sweat well.
8 am: One shake, two shakes
I immediately cancel out that wonderful exercise with a big breakfast burrito from Dialogue [Cafe] and a date smoothie. but I'm not going to dialogue. I'll post it and tip my driver well.
I'm very hungry. I just ran up a huge mountain, so I eat it and at the same time order the Paul Saladino Raw Smoothie of Erewhon. The meat one. I love that shake. And I always get bone broth from Erewhon too. So the day hasn't even started and I've spent an absurd amount of money on ordered food. I live in La La Land.
9am: hang in the pool
I shower and, if the weather is good, I am lucky to have a pool and jump in it. Maybe see what a couple of friends are doing.
10:30 a.m.: Group brain rot
I love having company. I'll call my friend Adam, I'll call my friend Jeff, who works at my record label, and we'll just watch brain-rotting TikToks.
You don't want to know things I show my wife. Brooke [Sansone]It's like, 'I don't even know what kind of answer I can get for this.' I'm looking in a meatball – and has two eyeballs, like Nickelodeon's Stick Stickly. And it says “Meatball Martin is calling you.” And you hear a sound like an iPhone ringing. And that is the tiktok. My friends and I died laughing. [We can spend] easily, nine hours [doing that]. We'll start getting headaches from spending too much time on our phones.
I hope you weren't thinking that, 'Oh, I'm coming up Runyon Canyon either freyman Canonwhere do I go to getty. I'm going to Zuma Beach. I go to gray stone mansion or I go to South Central and get some really great homemade brisket. Or let's Woon on the east side, Silver Lake and then, at night, dancing. I know all those amazing places exist. I go to all those places during the week. It's only Sunday and I just want to be home.
12 p.m.: Take it to Greek.
It's Sunday, so we're ordering. Matu cheese steaks in Beverly Hills. Right on the dot at noon. It is a delicious option for lunch. And if we feel adventurous, we will take the car and go down to Go Greek in Bedford [Drive] and just have a yogurt after the cheesesteak. It's an upscale frozen Greek yogurt place. It's a local place and it's really good.
[Building a yogurt cup] It starts out healthy, but then come the gummy worms and chocolate chips.
3 p.m.: Mall Tracking
I'll put on a little hat, some sunglasses and we'll run towards the Westfield Shopping Center Down in Century City. We go slow, we have a lot of food in us.
It is the best shopping center ever. We didn't even buy anything. We just walk. Walking is a great reward after going through that crazy parking lot to get to that mall. I just like being among people and going unnoticed and not being a big deal. In a way it grounds me.
We'll probably stay there for about 45 minutes and then take the car to Silver Lake where the real places to eat are.
5:00 p.m.: The party continues
let's go Hamburgers never say die. They have soft service too. I'll order a chocolate and vanilla swirl with four patties and cheese sauce. They have a really good cheese sauce. I don't know how they do it. Actually, yes, I do. I know how they do it. They fry their fries in beef tallow, which is what McDonald's used to do, and that's why they taste so crispy and nice.
That's when I take my hat off, because we're in Silver Lake and you see everyone doing the same thing as me and my friends. So we'll eat it on the hood of the car.
7:00 p.m.: Artisan Light Coca-Cola and a movie
Then we'll be in Los Angeles, so we'll be driving a lot. And if there's not too much traffic, which it shouldn't be, we'll take the 405 and get off at Palisades. And there is actually a movie theater in the palisade village. The last thing I saw there was “Tick, Tick… Boom!” with Andres Garfield. [Sings “Come to Your Senses”]
They have a really good Diet Coke there. It's just crunchy. It is very different from having it in a can, fresher than in a bottle. It is mixed inside the machine. And it's still spicy. I drink Diet Coke through my sleeve. It's like a Pez Diet Coke dispenser.
9 p.m.: snack
Since we're on the west side, we might as well do that. If we are still hungry, we will go to Eduardo's [Border Grill]which is a really wonderful place to make burritos.
9:45 p.m.: Fourth dessert
Then we'll end the night with more ice cream. let's go tthe great chill in Westwood. I love Los Angeles. Living in Los Angeles changed my life. My weight also changed.
Anyone reading this can eat whatever they want in Los Angeles, they can go to matsuhisa. You can do your Nobu. You can do whatever you want, as long as you run Loma Vista. This is how you burn calories.
10:00 p.m.: Demo tape drive
After that, we drove around looking at all the nice houses in Hancock Park or Beverly in Beverly Hills, just listening to demos. A lot of my friends are in the music industry, so we just listen to what songs are coming out, what songs they're working on, and what songs I'm working on. Basically all my records are mixed in the car, even if the sound system fails a little, I still want to listen to it on a car stereo system, because that's how people listen to music.
That's the great thing about Los Angeles, is that you can stay inspired, because there are creatives everywhere.
I don't know much about Hancock Park, but I admire how the streets have a kind of S-shaped curve. And one day I researched it. Why are the streets like this? [It’s] so people don't drive fast. This is how it was designed a long time ago. They could have easily straightened the road, but I guess it's more dramatic that the road has an S curve.
11:00 p.m.: 'Toks and Soprano
Anticipating Monday to be a pretty busy day, I try to get home around 11 to brighten the night with some last-minute brain rot 'Toks. And say goodbye to my friends and watch “The Sopranos” with my wife. I think James Gandolfini is one of the best actors of our time. Rest in peace.
It's a show I can watch over and over again, because it's based in where I'm from, New Jersey, so I have some kind of affection for it. It's just watching the introduction of Elizabeth, New Jersey, which is what you see when you land at Newark Airport and all the factories. There is something that reminds me a lot of home, although I did not live in the factory.
12am: Bedtime
I try my best not to look at the phone, but it never works. I'm sure I sleep 30% less. But that is a wonderful Sunday for me. Sunday full of relaxation.
