This past Sunday, artists from Jennifer Lopez to Nick Jonas to Justin Bieber took the stage to perform during this year's American Music Awards. Song Of The Year nominee Charlie Puth generated a huge reaction when he performed his hit song, "Marvin Gaye," with Meghan Trainor that mirrored the ending of the song's music video with a smooch between the two stars. In case you don't remember, the end of the performance went like this:
In a new interview with Fuse, Charlie reveals that he never intended to end the performance with such a long makeout session. "I wanted it to be a quick thing, but [the show's producers] kept yelling in my ear 'Keep going! Keep going!' And I wasn't going to back off... I didn't want it to look awkward," he says. "Maybe in theory I should have done that."
He also explains the kiss was Trainor's idea and that he was hesitant at first for fear that the performance would end up being only about the kiss. "[But] I got the idea of what they were going for in terms of the creative direction, and it just made sense to tie it all together. I realized that that’s why I made 'Marvin Gaye.’ I made it for people to instantly react and feel like they’re falling in love with each other.”
Puth confesses that he was a little "irked" when they told him to keep going, but that ultimately he was "so happy with the performance." In the internet era, both artists immediately realized the social media storm that kiss would create. “We both looked at each other and thought, ‘Well, we better clear this up immediately. It was record timing, one hour later — ‘We’re just friends!’ I also don’t want people to see me out with other girls this week and be like, ‘He’s cheating on her! He’s a pig!’ No, I’m not!”
