Austin Gatus Shares Live Look of “Don’t Want This to Change” feat. Sophia James

Soulful SoCal indie-pop singer-songwriter, hopeless romantic and saxophonist Austin Gatus’ new R&B-tinged live session performance of new single “Don’t Want This to Change,” featuring American Idol alum Sophia James (who made top 11 as Sophia Wackerman), is about young love, starting a new relationship, then learning to love while apart.

Gatus is a heart-on-his-sleeve romantic who’s survived childhood cancer, graduated from his dream school UCLA, and has gone on to perform with or open for heavy hitters like Harry Styles (at his headlining Coachella 2022 performance), Rufus Wainwright, Kim Dracula, MAX, Two Friends, Kenny G, Dave Koz, ‘70s disco legends Average White Band, and American Idol participants Jessica Sanchez and Sophia James.

Gatus states:

“I realized that I wanted to make it a duet to get both sides of the relationship. I sent the song to Sophia, and she wrote the other verse. Her voice really glues that jazz-soul sound together. We have different vocal ranges, so I wrote a bridge in different keys to accommodate that.”

This dynamic can be seen in the “Don’t Want This to Change” live session video that was filmed at a Westwood, Los Angeles studio, with Gatus exhibiting his exceptional saxophone chops. Here we witness Gatus and James’ charming energy and artistic chemistry together as they perform a slightly different arrangement of the song with a full band accompanying them.

The jazzy guitars and keys, along with throwback string and horn lines, leave space for Gatus and James’ velvety smooth vocals to carry this romantic ballad. They lovingly sing “I don’t need nobody else but you, and I don’t want that to change” together as Gatus’ saxophone weaves its way through this declaration of love. It’s perfectly built for both wedding and makeout playlists, bringing the sexy saxophone back in vogue.

The song captures the butterflies-in-the-stomach beginning of a long-distance relationship that Gatus would be in for over half a decade. It’s about building a strong foundation with your partner and figuring out what you both need to make it work. “The way you make it feel like home / It’s nice to know that you’re my own / Through highs and lows, with you I’ll go / And we’ll both grow, but I won’t let this change,” Gatus sings.

Austin Gatus x Sophia “Don’t Want This to Change” single artwork

Gatus comments:

“‘Don’t Want This to Change’ was inspired by the start of a long-term relationship with my partner. We had just graduated from college together and were aware of the adversity ahead of us as we continued to pursue our dreams in the real world. I wrote this song as a way to remain hopeful when times get tough in the relationship. My favourite lyric is ‘through highs and lows with you / I’ll go and we’ll both grow / but I won’t let this change.’ Because it really encapsulates the message of the song. No matter the adversity that we’ll face, we’ll continue to learn and grow together.

“This live performance version of the song brings me back to the fun times I had back in jazz school at UCLA. Setting up a very impromptu live session for the song and inviting a lot of past friends I’d made in the program at UCLA, really felt nostalgic to me. I wanted to set up a jam session vibe for the video, so I gave all the musicians the freedom to bounce ideas around and really let loose. I think this video really portrays that feeling of a group of friends jamming and enjoying themselves.

“This version is different from the single recording in that we could all fully express ourselves in the song without restraints. In the studio version, there would be certain embellishments or fills that could feel a bit too much for a studio track. In this live version, we played all the thoughts we felt in the moment without thinking too much about it. We also added a whole trade-off solo section between Sophia and I, which adds so much depth to the song and allows us to fully speak as musicians.

“Working with Sophia has been amazing. From the moment I decided to make this song a duet, I knew it had to be her on the track. I remember when she sent in her first demo with her verse, I liked it so much that we kept all the ideas (recording included) in the final track. When it came time for the live video session, we had already been sitting on the song for about a year, so we really just focused on jamming and having fun with it.”