Charlie Puth tried out a new look for Instagram on April 20 — he stripped down to his blue undies and submitted to a shirtless photo while having his hair curled in the stylist’s chair. He also appears to be indulging in a little skincare — Charlie is wearing a clear face mask in the cheeky shot. In another photo, he threw on a brown-ish button-down shirt and socks and stood outside his front door, smiling in the sunshine and holding a bottle of water. “Happy Wednesday!” he captioned the photos simply. Charlie appeared to be preparing for a shoot, but the caption didn’t mention exactly what he was working on.
If it all appeared to be a little “risky,” it might be because the photos seemed to be a pointed reference to Tom Cruise‘s iconic Risky Business look from the 1983 classic comedy. It wasn’t lost on fans and followers, who took to Charlie’s comments section to call out the homage. “Risky Business vibes,” noted Rob Lowe‘s son, Matthew Lowe.
But even more entertaining were the flustered fan comments. “You’re gonna delete this later right ??” one joked, while another fan stated “The way that I zoomed into that first photo tho.” One fan commented on the obvious sex appeal of the photo, saying “Funny story: my hubby and I were listening to Light Switch and he said ‘at my age it’s more like You Turn Me on Like a Dimmer Switch!’”
It’s not the first time Charlie has been caught looking a little ’80s. His Light Switch video, directed by Christian Breslauer and released in January, features a retro aerobics theme, complete with neon workout gear, a sweatband, and Jane Fonda-esque background dancers. In the video, Charlie appears to be whipping himself back into shape in order to get an ex-girlfriend back. Charlie recently released his newest hit, That’s Hilarious , and he’s candidly admitted that the song is about a bad breakup, opening up on Instagram about the experience. “I went through a very bad breakup one time, and I felt like I lost a year of my life,” he said in a video and preview clip posted on October 26, 2021. “You took away a year of my life.”