The long awaited, emotionally-charged power ballad single from the musical genius Charlie Puth titled ‘That’s Hilarious’ is upon us, seeing a vulnerable window into the life of the pop star.

Prior to releasing the track, a tear-filled Charlie Puth warned his audience that ‘That’s Hilarious’ was the toughest song for him to write, record, and release, as it chronicled some of the darkest moments of his life going through a difficult breakup. What that preface, one might assume a slow-moving piano ballad, accompanied by melodramatic strings to highlight the emotional impact of the subject at hand. Starting out, the song certainly gives off that impression, the lofi production accompanying a tragic chord progression. The soft and gentle delivery of Puth traversing complex melodies to address complex emotions come to a surprising twist in the buildup to the chorus, which punches a downbeat groove that puts a whole new flavor on the feel at hand. Though a surprise, the execution is delivered perfectly in ‘That’s Hilarious’. The catchy melody driving home the point of the song is excellent, playing on a major feel, though landing on the minor iteration of the melody. The instrumentation plays with tension and release without resorting to dissonant harmonies, resorting instead to the production, giving brief moments where Charlie Puth alone with the remnants of reverb or delay have the stage. From start to finish the production, songwriting, and execution all feels perfectly planned.

‘That’s Hilarious’ might be a twist on heartbreak songs, but pulls it off in such a way that works so perfectly with Puth’s talents. The vocal delivery is pristine as always, the songwriting clever and effective. It’s short, only running a little over two-minutes-and-forty-five-seconds, but that’s all the song requires to drive the message home without feeling cut short. Charlie Puth has done it again, delivering excellence to the realm of pop music that continuously blossoms.

Author: Nicholas Gaudet

Music producer and writer from Dieppe, Canada.