English-language songs and Western artist collaborations are commonplace in today’s K-pop market, but this feels like one of the industry’s more random products. IVE have teamed up with American rapper Saweetie for a cover of Swedish duo Icona Pop’s 2013 hit All Night.
Here’s the thing… I would love if K-pop’s girl groups started making songs that sounded like All Night, but I don’t think this single needs a straight-up cover. Even after a decade, it still feels too new for a makeover unless you’re doing something drastically different with it. Apart from a new second verse, this version feels too loyal to the original. I was a big fan of Icona Pop’s early-10’s work, so that alone drags All Night over the line. But without Caroline Hjelt and Aino Jawo’s gritty, impassioned vocals the song loses much of its charm.
Let’s talk about the vocal production here. It’s… a choice. IVE have proven their vocal prowess, but this mix feels overly artificial and makes it sound like one of those knockoff versions of famous songs sung by session musicians. Or worse… Kidz Bop. Even Saweetie’s verse is oddly processed and robbed of all texture. This may have been a choice, as genres like hyperpop often play with heavy-handed vocal effects. But if this was the case, the production should be much weirder and bolder. This version has a plastic, Barbie-esque tone that’s very on trend but too sanitized to leave any real impression.
| Hooks | 9 |
| Production | 6 |
| Longevity | 7 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.25 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
I agree with this review. If I want to listen to “All Night”, I’ll listen to the original Icona Pop song.
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I did not know this was a remake! I wonder why they chose a remake and a random collab for (I assume) their first English single? While I like the instrumentals, I don’t think IVE’s vocals can pull it off. Most of their voices have a high tone, bright and sweet quality, so when mixed together for an anthemic chorus, it sounds kinda childish.
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if you listen to original, you’d be hard pressed to call this a “remake”
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They could choose to remake SPICA’s Tonight.
Similar sounding but closer to home.
It could give SPICA more attentions too.
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i cant believe they just did that to the song 😬😬
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Actually like this one for the most part (minus the first heavy autotuned Saweetie bit). It definitely has the younger, polished sound, but half the band is teenagers.
The vocal styling reminds me a bit of CLC’s To the Sky.
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Feels like Sony/Columbia/SSE saw Barbie Dreams’ arrangement and did the same direction for IVE’s debut English single. Song’s all in good fun, but the credit for that goes to the actual song & not to IVE.
When I saw the feat, I just thought, MX also did have a weird feat on their debut English single, checks out. Works just fine.
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the rap made the song worse. Original was great as it was, this “remake” more a “remix/cover” added nothing of value, and this was supposed to be IVE’s English debut? Missed opportunity to really wow the West
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am i the only one who absolutely hated the beat drop and thought the og was 100000x more hard hitting. This song sounds way too flat especially for what it’s going for.
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You’re not alone. I hated it too. I personally prefer the original.
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I just have listened the og right now (I have never listened it in my life lol) and yeh, the drop is actually cool there.
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that beat drop hit like bacon to the face
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lol I love this expression.
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and now ur probably gonna steal it for ur reviews 🧍♂️
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the drop sounds very anti-climactic. the original feels like a party
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IVE many times are referred to as Wonyoung and her back-up dancers/singers. This one felt like Saweetie and her back-up whatevers.
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Agreed. IVE feel very much like they’re in the background here.
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Honestly Saweetie being on Baddie or Kitsch would’ve made a better use of her
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It’s mediocre, thank god!
We could’ve gotten some cringe shit with Ive twerking to shrill gangsta mumbling.
The girls singing to an autotune with Saweetie having one rap and then disappearing is far and away the best we could’ve hoped for.
This is not a disaster, and man were we lucky.
Starship doing an English song with an American rapper? There’s no limit to how bad this could’ve turned out.
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Okay you have a point😂
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I’ve only realized recently that the pre-chorus melody sounds similar to I AM’s pre+chorus LOL. these Europeans!
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I agree this is just okay..7/10. Not as good as “Off the Record” which is about the same thing. Still waiting for another killer classic from this talented group.
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This is the opposite of Kpop… Doesn’t sound like IVE either. Just a generic dated song probably picked by the American record company. Like a bad Calvin Harris mash up. This was recorded in a day probably. Where are the unique voices? The strong concepts? IVE’s rap part? There’s not even a verse.
I would be more forgiving if it was a brand collab like Pepsi or whatever.
After the mid Baddy this is very disappointing.
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For a song about staying up all night, this made me sleepy lol. A song like this does not need to be this polished. The girls sounds like robots.
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I see they want to have the lsfm’s perfect night hit so they release this remake instead
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They finished it’s shooting before perfect night even came out lol
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I didn’t know this was a remake. But it did remind me of icona pop when I heard it. Makes sense now
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I dont like the autotune in this
7/10 for me
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This was disappointing. Ive has some pretty good songs, and i fully expected their english debut to be an original song as good as “i am” or “after like”. I was shocked to find out this was just a cover from an icona pop song that’s not even “I Love It”, and a cover that doesn’t improve or update anything the original did. I wonder what the girls think about their company’s decisions.
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i felt the same. i literally texted someone “why does the ive song sound like a 2012 bar banger except they didn’t really pull it off enough for it to be a banger.” I realize now that it’s because it’s a cover. I’m sure the original is more qualifying for the title of a 2012 bar banger. Especially since looking it up I found that it is on an album from 2013. Pretty close!
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IVE’s vocal layering/filtering made their verses seem so robotic and actually dampened the musicality of the song.
However, I’m not a hater of all robotic layering. If it’s done in moderation, I think it can add some style. For example, “Dash” by nmixx (which ironically got the same score as All Night) used some funky fake vocal layering as a flourish and it made the song more harmonious, instead of…kidz bop
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I just realized that the EMD sound and the “one vocal” chorus is very reminiscent of FOREVER 1. Maybe the intention was to remind western ears of the other super girl’s group? Mission failed unfortunately.
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This got the same score as nmixx-dash in your ratings system….? Must be a glitch in the tabulation software.
Dash isn’t incredible but it’s at least 1-2 units of measurement better than this.
The music video is, well…it had Yujin who could make a landfill look chic and appealing.
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Dash will definitely be featured in my “risers and fallers” post this Saturday…
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I’m new here so look forward to learning more about the process!
Love nMIXX (especially Haewon) even if I don’t always love management’s choices for song composition.
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The vocal production completely ruins this for me. I only have some fleeting nostalgia attached to the original (I didn’t even remember it until I heard the chorus). The sterilized, isolated vocals over this just kill the atmosphere of the song though.
This is a song that should feel like you’re out with a large group of friends, singing and shouting at the top of your lungs “we could do this all night!”. Clean, isolated, sterilized vocals is exactly the //opposite// of what you need to convey that vibe. It’s a baffling production choice.
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