Known in Los Angeles for performing in noted venues such as The Roxy Theatre, The House of Blues, and The Derby and voted one of Music Connection Magazine's Hot 100 Artists, Lopez first came to international prominence as a producer and songwriter for American Idols Jim Verraros and Angela Peel, as well as for international RaggaHop star Ms. Triniti.
Lopez released his debut This Is About You on January 16, 2006 to strong reviews. All 17 of the album's songs were licensed to TV and movies. NBC used "Sunday Summertime" for the end-of-day montage of winners in the 2008 Olympics.
Lopez' second album is due for release in 2010. The first single "Run" was released in November 2009 and the second single "Hot Pink" was released in January 2010. Remixes for both songs are due out in March 2010 and are being added to radio along with the single versions.
After signing with Rondor (Universal Music Group) in 2008, Lopez started producing and writing for Varsity Fanclub (Capitol Records). Lopez has also been a producer and co-writer for Joey McIntyre, Charice, Drew Ryan Scott, Thomas Fiss, Shinee (Top 5 hit in South Korea), Tyler Hilton, Jeff Silbar, Brent Paschke, Chris Salvatore, and other recording artists.
Lopez had been writing for James Brown in late 2006 and two songs penned by Lopez were to be on Brown's next album entitled "World Funk Against the Grain" due for a 2007 release. Brown died on Christmas Day, 2006, but said in a press release a month before, "Mr. Lopez gets the funk. Mr. Lopez gives us hope for the future of music."
Influenced by The Beatles, Sheryl Crow and Stevie Wonder, Lopez trained vocally in opera to secure vocal technique and range and studied classical and jazz theory for composition. He is self-taught in piano, guitar, bass and drums. He also taught himself to read and write sheet music.
Lopez resides in Los Angeles, CA.
Automatic
Gabe Lopez Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And you’re here in my mind,
Just passing your picture and you come back,
When I close my eyes,
I can be fine – somewhere else as I drive,
Then I pass where we first met,
I can be cool – thinking I’m over you,
Chorus:
It’s automatic when I think of you,
It’s automatic what it puts me through,
If I’m an addict then my drug is you,
It’s automatic,
Automatic.
Just one of my lines comes out,
And the truth comes out about you,
I tried looking for someone new,
But when I do I’m never amused.
I can be out with all my friends – just about,
And someone says your name and I start to change,
What had been weightless suddenly is stressed,
And the smile falls from my face.
Chorus
I can’t let you go, I have no control,
You’re a habit that I can’t break,
When is it enough?
When do I give up?
Is there something that it’s gonna take?
Chorus
Don’t you know what you put in my heart?
Don’t you know that you’ve torn me apart?
Don’t you know I would shake you if I could?
But I’ve tried – can’t you tell it’s no good?
Chorus
In Gabe Lopez's song "Automatic," the artist expresses the lingering effects of a past relationship. He describes how even when he is going about his daily life and feeling content, something as simple as a song or a place where they first met can bring back memories of his ex and take him out of that state of mind. The chorus emphasizes that these thoughts and feelings towards his ex-partner come automatically and without warning, comparing his addiction to them to a drug he cannot quit.
The second verse delves deeper into his struggle to move on. Despite his attempts to find someone new, he finds no pleasure in it, and the truth about his feelings towards his ex-partner always resurfaces whenever someone mentions their name. The singer admits that he feels helpless in his addiction and wonders what it will take for him to be able to let go and move on.
Overall, "Automatic" is a raw and honest portrayal of the difficulty in moving on from past love, even when one knows it is for the best. The emotions conveyed in the song are relatable and show that regardless of how much time has passed, letting go is never easy.
Line by Line Meaning
Just one of our songs comes on,
When a song that we used to listen to together comes on, it reminds me of you.
And you’re here in my mind,
Thoughts of you flood my mind.
Just passing your picture and you come back,
Just seeing a picture of you reminds me of our times together.
When I close my eyes,
Even in my dreams, thoughts of you are ever-present.
I can be fine – somewhere else as I drive,
I can pretend to be over you when I'm alone.
Then I pass where we first met,
But when I come across the place where we first met, my feelings rush back to me.
I can be cool – thinking I’m over you,
I can act nonchalant and pretend to have moved on.
But then something reminds me not yet.
But then something reminds me that I still haven't gotten over you.
It’s automatic when I think of you,
Thoughts of you are automatic and uncontrollable.
It’s automatic what it puts me through,
The automatic thoughts of you cause a lot of emotional pain.
If I’m an addict then my drug is you,
If I'm an addict, then you are the drug I'm addicted to.
Just one of my lines comes out,
Just saying one of my lines from a song we liked together brings out the truth about you.
And the truth comes out about you,
The truth about you is that I still long for you.
I tried looking for someone new,
I've tried to move on and find someone else.
But when I do I’m never amused.
But no one ever measures up to you, and I never find love as exciting or enjoyable.
I can be out with all my friends – just about,
I can be with my friends and forget about you, for a little while.
And someone says your name and I start to change,
But when someone mentions your name, my emotions start to shift again.
What had been weightless suddenly is stressed,
What had been a carefree moment is now weighed down by thoughts of you again, causing me stress.
And the smile falls from my face.
I can no longer pretend to be happy, and my smile fades away.
I can’t let you go, I have no control,
I'm unable to let go of you and have no control over my feelings.
You’re a habit that I can’t break,
You're a habit that I'm unable to shake off.
When is it enough?
When will these feelings for you be enough?
When do I give up?
When will I know it's time to move on?
Is there something that it’s gonna take?
What will it take for me to let go of you?
Don’t you know what you put in my heart?
Don't you realize how much you mean to me?
Don’t you know that you’ve torn me apart?
Don't you know that I'm broken because of our separation?
Don’t you know I would shake you if I could?
If I could, I would shake you and make you understand what you've put me through.
But I’ve tried – can’t you tell it’s no good?
But I've tried, and you can see that it's not working.
Contributed by Jason W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.