We know that just like us, you guys are always looking for new artists to add to your ever-growing plethora of artists you listen to. Well, look no further than Caleb Kopta! With the release of ‘Forgiveness,’ Caleb Kopta lets the audience in on a song that is so incredibly personal to him. In reality, Caleb has spent a few years perfecting this track to have it ready for our ears! When you have as much talent as Caleb does, and you’re able to write and sing with your heart on your sleeve like this, that is a sheer recipe for success.
We were lucky enough to get to chat with Caleb Kopta about all things ‘Forgiveness,’ we hope you love this interview as much as we do!
Stream ‘Forgiveness’ here!
‘Forgiveness’ is a very personal song that packs a punch. If you had to choose, what would be your favorite lyric from the track?
I always liked the chorus. The one line that never got a revision was, “I wonder if you want me like I want you?” It’s a heavy question. With relationships, you let people down, and it’s hard to stomach when you realize that someone may not care about you as much as you care about them. Especially when there was a point that they did.
How long did it take from when you thought of the idea to the point where the song was ready for our ears?
I wrote the initial idea over a voice memo back in August 2019. All I had then was the chorus idea, I had some rough verses in at that time too, but wasn’t happy with them. Over the next 3 months, I finished rewriting and started working on the demo. I wanted to get this song right, I spent a lot of time working through the demo trying to bring it to a place that felt good to me. It took longer than it needed being that the song was in a demo stage from Jan 2020 to February 2021. I just kept on trying different versions and variations of the song for about a year, a lot of that was a learning experience for me. I learned a lot about production and home recording through that process. I finally took the idea to LA in Aug 2021 and recorded it with the producer Dave Cerminara. We now have the finished song after close to 3 years.
‘Forgiveness’ is 70s influenced, with a modern twist. If you could place the song on the soundtrack of a 70s movie, which one would it be?
I went through a James Bond phase at one time, so I would say Diamonds Are Forever.
What do you hope anyone who listens takes from ‘Forgiveness?’
I hope that it can convict the listener. I believe that forgiveness is an essential part of life. People will make mistakes, people will screw up, people will do bad things to you and the people you love. People are selfish. I am too, I have done all of those things. This song I hope can turn someone from a grudge holder to someone who forgives and forgets. Give others the grace you know that you need.
With live music back in our lives, what has been the biggest perk of getting to perform again? Is there anything that you didn’t realize you loved so much about performing that became so much clearer after not being able to do it for so long? I love performing, I would like to consider myself an Elvis type. The title of entertainer is way more identifiable to me than “singer” or “musician.” It’s been exciting to lean into that and what that means to me. I want to give people a show where they first feel connected to me, and simultaneously the experience of the moment. I want to do whatever I can to get everyone in the room involved in the moment.
As an artist, being told that what you’re writing isn’t up to par can be quite the blow. Obviously, that’s a rut you’re out of with how incredible ‘Forgiveness’ is, do you have any advice for overcoming a creative block?
You just have to write through it. The biggest enemy for writing is internal discouragement and thinking what you’re writing isn’t “good enough”. Funny enough it’s the times where I push through and just decide to finish that song that doesn’t seem good enough that I can end up landing on something good. Lose yourself in it, and if you’re not having fun with it, switch it up, get a friend to help out. Try it differently, and don’t be too much of a perfectionist about it, or you’ll end up working on a single song for 3 years.
If you had to use three words to describe this new era that ‘Forgiveness’ is kicking off, what would those be?
Hopefully the start
The pandemic was really awful for everyone, obviously, but being a creative during a time that felt so dark was especially challenging. What would you say you learned the most about yourself as an artist over that period?
I learned a lot about who I don’t want to be through 2020-2021. I became very lazy and narcissistic. I wanted life to cater to me and felt some type of entitlement. I went through a depression, and kind of gave up on life in some ways. I still had this belief that I was a musician, but I wasn’t playing and I wasn’t focused. I was in a creative block as mentioned in question 6. Coming out of that time has been a process since October 2021, I am grateful for the last 8 months of my life because so much has changed for the better. I learned that I have to be hungry, and honest with myself, and that I have to forgive others as well as myself. I got that fire back that I had back in 2019 when I was hungry and willing to put all my chips down on the table. I’m looking forward to the coming years.
We know that you have said ‘Forgiveness’ is a love letter to people you’ve let down, was there a point in making the track, where it became clear that you were the person that needed this track the most? That self-forgiveness was what was needed most?
Looking back to when I wrote the song in 2019, I never really understood what it meant. It wasn’t until a conversation with a friend in Feb 2022 that it clicked. They asked what the song was about and I told them about some of my experiences leading up to writing this song. 2019 was a year for me where I didn’t have a lot to show for myself, kept feeling like I wasn’t good enough, and which led me to a place where I threw in the towel. 2020 and 2021 were very unproductive, selfish, unhappy, self-indulging years for me that I look back on regretfully, and I realized how much I’d hurt my friends, family, and girlfriend. I was lazy and self-absorbed. I was focused on my happiness, but I wasn’t happy. I began to realize after that conversation how much I’d let people down, and it all came to a head on release day. The timing felt coincidental, the release week of forgiveness was a week that I was really fully admitting all of this, and truly asking for forgiveness from the people in my life. This song has felt like an anthem to me because it’s been something that I’ve had to live out over the last 3 years. I’ve found out now that putting the people around me first, being a friend, trying to help them, and being available to others before myself has made me a healthier, happier, and better person. I’ve got self-love now, I didn’t when I was out living for myself and chasing “happiness” and ultimately hurting the people around me.
Now that ‘Forgiveness’ is out in the world, what’s next? What does the rest of 2022 look like for Caleb Kopta?
Since you asked, I’m about to figure out what’s next later today. I have some ideas, but I think the mystery of tomorrow is always essential.
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