"[3] He also remarked that he wanted a sound akin to the late 1980s "dark R&B" of Babyface, Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis and Teddy Riley.

"[6] "Attention", released as the first single from the album on April 21, 2017, was met with commercial success, peaking at number five on the Billboard Hot 100.

[7] "How Long", released as the album's second single on October 5, 2017, peaked at number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached the top 20 in several markets.

[12] In a positive review of the album, Spencer Kornhaber of The Atlantic called Voicenotes a "guilty pleasure" and noted that Puth is not aiming for Ed Sheeran "everyguy relatability".

[18] Mark Kennedy of The Washington Post praised the album, calling it "perfect pop", and stating that Puth has a fantastic career in front of him.

[16] In a mixed review of the album, Brittany Spanos of Rolling Stone gave the album three out of five stars, saying "…while [Puth’s] efforts on Voicenotes are valiant, he still has a bit more work to prove he can cut his teeth with the Justin Timberlakes and the Nick Jonases of that over-saturated world.