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Taking on Icona Pop’s 2013 single and giving it its own party bop twist, South Korean girl group IVE are delivering on their sky-high promise. Check out the latest cover story for our New Music Friday playlist edit, The Cut.
Words: Abigail Firth.
South Korean girl group IVE’s success seemed written in the stars. From the moment we were introduced to the six-piece – that’s leader AN YUJIN and fellow members GAEUL, REI, JANG WONYOUNG, LIZ, and LEESEO – via debut single ‘ELEVEN’ in late 2021, it was clear they had a certain magic.
Hypnotic and captivating, ‘ELEVEN’ opened the door to IVE’s technicolour world, and it’s been impossible to close it since. Doubling down on those vibrant beginnings, the equally inviting ‘LOVE DIVE’ followed quickly in early 2022, its glacial, glittering sound taking it to the top of the Korean singles chart and earning the girls numerous Song Of The Year gongs across the South Korean awards season.
Consistently racking up hits – including the disco-fuelled ‘After Like’, neon curiosity ‘Kitsch’, and recently the metallic tongue-twister ‘Baddie’ – in the year(ish) in between, IVE have laid their foundations as clear ones-to-watch while leaving a breadcrumb trail of indications they’ll go down as legends.
But statistics aside, there’s something bigger connecting with their audience (or DIVE, as the official fan name goes) between the lines of the bangers; IVE’s hits hone in on self-confidence and embracing your true self, hitting back at the misogynistic criticism often fired at female idols.
Togetherness and classic Girl Power run through their discography, particularly on the soaring debut album lead track ‘I AM’ and plucky electro-ballad ‘Either Way’, both released last year, so it makes perfect sense that the girls’ first collaboration is with self-made rap mogul Saweetie.
Their first English single, ‘All Night’, is IVE’s rendition of the 2013 Icona Pop hit of the same name, the girls transforming the Swedish duo’s cheerleader chants into a playful party bop.
“I believe that the power of music is really big, so we need to include hopeful and important messages in our songs,” says AN YUJIN, “We’re able to give our listeners positive energy through our music this way.”
JANGWONYOUNG agrees, adding, “We always talked about loving ourselves and how important self-love is in our songs. In ‘All Night’, we’re saying that you can do it! We’re encouraging our listeners through the lyrics like “everything is alright”. That’s something we really want to tell our DIVEs.”
The single arrives in time for IVE’s first world tour, ‘Show What I Have’, which kicked off in Seoul this past October, resumes next weekend in Bangkok, and will finally land in the UK this summer, stopping off in London on 16th June. It’s a testament to their meteoric rise that they’ll be filling out the massive O2 Arena on their first trip across the pond.
“In ‘All Night’, we’re saying that you can do it!”
JANGWONYOUNG
With another stellar year ahead of them, we caught up with IVE amongst their busy schedule (they’re quite literally filming something special as we speak) for a quick update.
What can you tell us about the new single?
JANGWONGYOUNG: Our new single, ‘All Night,’ has a strong and encouraging message. We want you to let go and have fun! This is also our first collaboration, and we’re so happy to have worked with Saweetie.
It’s a cover of Icona Pop’s ‘All Night’. Were any of you familiar with the track before recording your own version?
ANYUJIN: I can’t remember exactly when I heard the original track, but when I heard our version for the first time, I felt like I had heard it somewhere before. It’s a popular song, so it sounded very familiar.
It’s your first full English single; how was the recording process?
REI: Getting the right pronunciation was difficult. The pronunciation that we were taught and then actually saying the words while recording was different, so it was hard to get it right.
JANGWONYOUNG: We recorded the song in the US, and I especially can’t forget recording with Cirkut. I was so happy to work with him, and I really love the adlibs we came up with.
What was it like working with Saweetie?
LEESEO: Working with Saweetie was great because we were already fans of her. I was so happy to work together and thankful to have her on our first English single.
“I’d like to show DIVEs a cooler side of us in the future”
LEESEO
It’s also your first collaboration. Are there any other artists you’d like to work with in the future?
GAEUL: Camila Cabello.
LEESEO: Ariana Grande.
Is there another side of IVE you’d like fans to see?
LEESEO: I’d like to show DIVEs a cooler side of us in the future.
GAEUL: I want to show our fans a really cool performance that we’ve never really done before.
What kind of music/artists are you fans of yourselves?
LEESEO: I really love R&B and pop.
LIZ: As a K-pop artist, I’m a huge fan of K-pop, of course.
GAEUL: I listen to Ariana Grande’s songs a lot.
JANGWONYOUNG: I love listening to rap, so I really like Doja Cat.
REI: I love listening to R&B, so I love listening to SZA’s songs.
ANYUJIN: I really enjoy pop songs; I especially like Mae Muller’s songs now.
You guys had a really big year in 2023; what were your highlights?
REI: KCON LA was a big highlight for us!
ANYUJIN: We also had our first concert! That was a really important and meaningful moment last year.
How do you think the group has evolved since debut?
ANYUJIN: After debut, we’ve released several different albums and shown a wide range of concepts and styles that we can do. We’ve grown as a team, too, by helping and supporting each other after debut and staying by each other.
‘Love Dive’ won many Song Of The Year awards in 2022. Has it been hard to follow up that success after hitting that milestone early on?
JANGWONYOUNG: More than pressure, we want to keep releasing good songs for our DIVEs and listeners. I think that desire motivates us to keep going rather than feeling pressure to follow up our success.
You’ve released music consistently since debuting, too. Are you back in the studio now?
JANGWONYOUNG: We’re always planning and preparing new music. The next one will probably be a Korean album, so please keep an eye out for it!
You’ve risen really quickly since 2021; what has the journey been like for each of you?
ANYUJIN: After debut, I’ve been able to show a lot of different sides of me to the public through my different activities. I’ve really learned and experienced a lot through the different activities I’ve done so it’s been a meaningful journey so far.
JANGWONYOUNG: All our group and my individual activities made all the days go by really quickly. With all the days that have passed, I’ve become a person who can handle more, and I’ve gotten to know myself better, so every day has been meaningful.
GAEUL: We received so much love from a lot of people after our debut. That love made me want to become a better artist, and that’s the reason why I’m still working hard today.
REI: Our group received a lot of love and awards in such a short amount of time post-debut, so I’m working hard to repay that love with great songs and performances.
LIZ: I won’t remain satisfied with all the things we’ve achieved so far, and I’m going to work harder to improve more.
LEESEO: We’ve done a lot of concepts, albums and promotions up until now, and I just want to keep improving to show you a better side of me.
What can we expect from your upcoming world tour?
REI: You can look forward to some new unit performances during our tour!
It’ll be your first performance in London (welcome!), and the venue is one of the biggest arenas in the UK. How are you feeling about playing here?
JANGWONGYOUNG: It’s the first time we’re going to London as a group, and we’re really excited and looking forward to it. We can’t wait for the day we visit!
What else does 2024 bring for IVE?
JANGWONYOUNG: Our world tour is starting in 2024, so we want to say, “DIVE please stay tuned for us!” ■
Follow Dork’s The Cut Spotify playlist here.
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