No less a celebrity than Taylor Swift believes that Charlie Puth “should be a bigger artist” — after all, she sings it in the title track of her current album. But does Charlie believe he should be a bigger artist? Well, yes, but not because he wants to, say, launch a tour that’s on the scale of Taylor’s.

Speaking to Vulture, Charlie says, “If it means I can reach ten more people, then I would like to be a bigger artist. I don’t want to be a bigger artist to inflate my own ego. I’m fine where it’s at.”

“I don’t strive to be a bigger artist to look like a cooler guy,” he continues. “I don’t even know if I want to play stadiums. I just want to inspire 80,000 people, maybe not have them see me in the stadium. Do stadiums sound good when you play in them? The acoustics are all over the place. But, I mean, I wouldn’t be opposed.”

Charlie recently released his new song, “Hero,” after being inspired by Taylor’s shout-out. But if you’re not feeling it at the moment, Charlie says that’s great. “I’d like for people not to almost like it immediately,” he says.

“Of course, I want them to like it, but I’d like them to be unsure of how they feel about it,” he adds. “It’s not anything I’ve ever done before. … It’s almost jarring. ‘Ooh, a guitar in a new Charlie song?’ I don’t even know how to play guitar.”

As for why the song ends abruptly, Charlie explains, “Well, the real answer is that an album will happen and you’ll hear more. You’ll hear the actual B part of things — stuff that Taylor does really, really, really well.”

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