From Demo to Global Stages
Gabriela didn’t start with Katseye. The track has lived a few lives — reportedly offered first to Anitta and Rita Ora as a sultry Latin-pop demo back in 2017.
Instead, it found its home in 2025 on Katseye’s Beautiful Chaos EP, produced by Andrew Watt and John Ryan, with a star writing lineup including Ali Tamposi and Charli XCX.
Since its release on June 20, the single has climbed the charts: top 10 in Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore, with a Billboard Global 200 peak at #30 and a respectable #94 on the US Hot 100.
What makes Gabriela stand out in Katseye’s catalogue is its unapologetic drama, a Latin R&B pop swirl with telenovela flair and a knowing wink to the trope of the “other woman.”
If Gnarly was brash hyperpop chaos, Gabriela is its soap-operatic sibling.
Katseye Gabriela Lyrics Meaning, Line by Line
“Hot like a bullet / Flying too fast, I couldn’t catch it”
Right from the first line, Megan and Manon kick things off with a violent metaphor for temptation.
The “bullet” is lethal but unstoppable, desire or betrayal that can’t be intercepted, no matter how tightly you hold on.
“Heart in the casket / You always knew it”
Here, the focus turns inward. The narrator is painfully aware that this heartbreak was inevitable.
The casket imagery ties betrayal to a kind of living death, a love already on life support before Gabriela even appears.
“The starring role, the main attraction / Got cameras flashing”
Gabriela is cast like a celebrity, spectacle itself. The one who steals the spotlight also steals the man.
This sets up Gabriela as a classic telenovela figure, dazzling, magnetic and ready to ruin everything.
“Like, ooh / You got everybody’s eyes undressing you / And I see it too”
When Lara and Sophia step in on the pre-chorus, it turns confessional.
The narrator does not just resent Gabriela’s appeal — she is drawn to it too.
There is envy but also a grudging recognition that this seductiveness is real and powerful.
“Yeah, ooh / You could have anyone else you wanted to / I’m begging you”
This line is the emotional hinge. The narrator admits Gabriela has the power to pick anyone.
The word “begging” is pure vulnerability, a confession that her love alone might not be enough to compete with that pull.
The full vocal power arrives in the chorus with Yoonchae, Manon, Lara and Daniela all layering the plea.
“Hands off, Gabriela, Gabriela / Hands off, Gabriela-la-la / Back off of my fella, Gabriela”
This hook works like a frantic mantra, repeating until it almost loses its meaning.
The la-la-la feels deceptively sweet, a girlish chant that undercuts the narrator’s desperation and mocks her lack of control.
“’Cause, ooh / You could have anyone else you wanted to / I’m begging you”
Repetition here sharpens the helplessness. It is the sound of someone pleading with a force she knows she cannot contain.
The next pre-chorus, again with Lara and Sophia, deepens the paranoia.
“Like, ooh / If you made all of these fantasies come true / What would you do?”
This pivot moves from fear to confrontation. The narrator imagines Gabriela actually making the forbidden real. It is as if she is testing herself — if the worst happened, would he still stay?
“Yeah, ooh / You could have anyone else you wanted to / But I’m begging you”
The same plea spins around once more, but each repetition feels more frantic, like an obsessive loop she cannot escape.
“Skin amaretto / I bet you taste just like the summer”
Megan and Daniela deliver one of the song’s standout lines. It is sensuous and revealing.
Gabriela becomes a forbidden sweetness, irresistible yet leaving a bitter aftertaste.
The “summer” image captures fleeting heat and temptation, pleasure you know will never last.
“Él llegó conmigo y conmigo se va / Sus ojos son mío’, eso no va a cambiar / Me quiere a mí y no importan las demás / No, no, no, no…”
Daniela’s Spanish bridge grounds the song in defiance. She stops pleading and reclaims power, asserting that he came with her and will leave with her. His eyes belong to her alone.
The repeated “No, no, no” is final, a line the narrator refuses to let anyone cross.
“La-la-la-la… (Back off, back off, back off)”
The outro is a fragile stand. The airy la-la-la sounds almost light, but the repeated “Back off” pulls everything back to raw reality. It is her last chant against what she knows she probably cannot stop.
Production & Sonic Elements
Produced by Andrew Watt and John Ryan (the pair behind countless pop hits), Gabriela marries Latin pop’s humid sensuality with sleek R&B grooves.
The song’s structure stays mid-tempo and almost hypnotic — a point of contention for some reviewers who wished for more sonic payoff.
Unlike Gnarly, which was unruly in its Brat-era homage, Gabriela is smoother, more controlled, and that restraint is both its appeal and its limitation.
Serban Ghenea’s mixing and Mike Bozzi’s mastering bring polish, but the standout moments come from the layered harmonies and that Spanish falsetto break which is genius and refreshing.
Gabriela Music Video: A Telenovela Gone Wild
No discussion of Gabriela is complete without its official video. Directed by Andrew Thomas Huang, the MV embraces full soap opera mode: Jessica Alba steps in as the CEO of “Gabriela Enterprises,” choosing her successor from the six Katseye members.
The plot is equal parts chaos and camp — catfights break out, a wedding is spectacularly sabotaged, talk shows spiral into absurdity, and the voluminous telenovela hair ties it all together.
What really makes this video work is how confidently Katseye leans into the melodrama.
It feels like a short film that begs for a spin-off series. Even with the over-the-top concept, the group’s performances stay surprisingly sharp, balancing parody and homage in a way that makes the whole thing feel both silly and stylish.
It’s the kind of concept that takes a simple song about jealousy and transforms it into a pop-culture moment that sticks.
Katseye Gabriela Cultural Meaning and Impact
With Gabriela, Katseye taps into the timeless archetype of the ‘other woman’ but does so with an ironic, self-aware edge that makes the trope feel fresh.
Its history as a track once tied to Anitta and Rita Ora only adds another layer to its pop lineage, showing how the song’s DNA has always flirted with different shades of desire and rivalry.
The Spanish bridge in Daniela’s verse is more than a stylistic flourish; it underlines the group’s multilingual identity and global vision.
It hints at the potential for Katseye to push this further — imagine future singles that lean even harder into the members’ diverse cultural roots, expanding this telenovela tension into a truly international pop story.
Of course, the drama doesn’t come without questions. Some might say that while the music video goes full camp, the song itself plays things safe.
The mid-tempo groove drifts into familiar Latin-pop territory that recalls Camila Cabello’s 2018 heyday rather than redefining it.
But that push-pull might be exactly what makes Gabriela stick: it plays on insecurity, competition, and the silent rivalries that can exist in any relationship, all while giving them a glossier, more theatrical spin.
It’s a sly wink at the way pop fandoms can pit idols against each other, too — a reminder that, sometimes, your biggest rival might be more imagined than real.
Final Reflection: Who Is Your Gabriela?
Gabriela is three minutes of rivalry and insecurity turned into a chant.
It captures the fear of competing with a version of perfection that may not even be real.
The lyrics do not just beg Gabriela to let go, they leave you with the question: if someone could choose anyone, would they still choose you?
That is what makes this hook stay in your head.
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KATSEYE Gabriela Lyrics
Verse 1:
Hot like a bullet
Flying too fast, I couldn’t catch it
Heart in the casket
You always knew it
The starring role, the main attraction
Got cameras flashing
Pre-Chorus:
Like, ooh
You got everybody’s eyes undressing you
And I see it too
Yeah, ooh
You could have anyone else you wanted to
I’m begging you
Chorus:
Hands off, Gabriela, Gabriela
Hands off, Gabriela-la-la
Back off of my fella, Gabriela
Back off, Gabriela-la-la
‘Cause, ooh
You could have anyone else you wanted to
I’m begging you (Hey)
Hands off, Gabriela, Gabriela
Hands off, Gabriela-la-la, la-la-la-la
Verse 2:
Skin amaretto
I bet you taste just like the summer
Under the covers (Hey)
Me in the middle
Overprotective of my lover
You make me wonder
Pre-Chorus:
Like, ooh
If you made all of these fantasies come true
What would you do?
Yeah, ooh
You could have anyone else you wanted to
But I’m begging you
Chorus:
Hands off, Gabriela, Gabriela
Hands off, Gabriela-la-la
Back off of my fella, Gabriela
Back off, Gabriela-la-la
‘Cause, ooh
You could have anyone else you wanted to
I’m begging you (Hey)
Hands off, Gabriela, Gabriela
Hands off, Gabriela-la-la, la-la-la-la
Post-Chorus:
La-la-la-la
La-la-la-la
La-la-la-la (Oh, no)
Bridge:
Él llegó conmigo y conmigo se va
Sus ojos son mío’, eso no va a cambiar
Me quiere a mí y no importan las demás
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no
Él llegó conmigo y conmigo se va
Sus ojos son mío’, eso no va a cambiar
Me quiere a mí y no importan las demás
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no
Chorus:
Hands off, Gabriela, Gabriela
Hands off, Gabriela-la-la (Gabriela)
Back off of my fella, Gabriela
Back off, Gabriela-la-la (Oh, Gabriela-la-la)
‘Cause, ooh
You could have anyone else you wanted to
I’m begging you (I’m begging you; Hey)
Hands off, Gabriela (Gabriela, hands off), Gabriela
Hands off (Hands off), Gabriela-la-la, la-la-la-la (La-la-la-la)
Outro:
La-la-la-la (La-la-la-la)
La-la-la-la (La-la-la-la)
La-la-la-la
(Back off, back off, back off)
