The only song from Nine Track Mind that Puth says makes the album “bearable” for him is “We Don’t Talk Anymore,” a breathy duet with Selena Gomez. “It’s about a particular moment in my life, when someone very close to me wanted the attention of somebody else. When I found that out and we ended it, I might have done some shady things too, and she might have asked me, ‘How long has this been going on?’” Later, he delves a bit deeper. “I don’t kiss and tell, but the only way a song like that can come across as real is if there’s something else going on behind the scenes,” he says. “And that’s what was happening [with Gomez]. Very short-lived, very small, but very impactful. And it really messed me up. I’m trying to put this the best way possible: It wasn’t like I was the only person on her mind. And I think I knew that going in – what I was getting myself into." Puth takes a deep breath and slumps down. "You gather up a bunch of emotion with the life shovel, throw it in the life bucket, mix it up,” he says with a shrug. “And she evoked such good emotion on that song, it was a pleasure working with her. That’s why I’m always happy to sing it, even though it came from a dark point in my life.”
Charlie Puth confirms to Billboard that his songs “Attention” and “How Long” are about Selena Gomez (x)
