Charlie Puth’s latest track is catchy and upbeat and deceptively fun. But “Light Switch” actually takes us into some provocative territory.
This pulsating song finds Puth obsessing over a woman who continually leads him on while desiring zero commitment. And while you may be tempted to feel sorry for him, Puth makes it clear that he isn’t willing to put in the work to resist his own urges.
I suppose the positive here is that there’s no profanity and that Puth knows that this woman he’s interested in is no good …
… But that doesn’t mean much when he isn’t willing to cut ties with her.
He knows he shouldn’t pick up the phone when she calls late at night, wanting to “act like lovers” but not commit. But, apparently, when he remembers her physique from past physical interactions, she’s too hard to deny (“You turn me on like a light switch/When you’re movin’ your body around and ‘round”).
It seems that although Puth knows he would do best to walk away, he’d prefer to wallow in a weird sort of misery, “hypnotized” by the very thing woman that’s “hurting” his heart.
The accompanying music video shows a disheveled Puth getting into shape and cleaning up his life for a woman who has left him (all while adding in a shirtless Puth and women in Spandex workout gear). But, in the end, it turns out he’s done all this hard work for nothing as she’s already moved on to someone else.
On his YouTube channel, Puth says that the video is supposed to show “all the things we sometimes try to change about ourselves in order to capture that unrequited love, when deep down we should be changing our lives only to benefit ourselves and no one else.”
If that were the essence of this song, I’d be giving it more of a thumbs up. But, unfortunately, the track focuses on a man who gives into lust, time and time again.
Kristin Smith joined the Plugged In team in 2017. Formerly a Spanish and English teacher, Kristin loves reading literature and eating authentic Mexican tacos. She and her husband, Eddy, love raising their children Judah and Selah. Kristin also has a deep affection for coffee, music, her dog (Cali) and cat (Aslan).
