"Love Lasts Forever" is a song by English

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of who ...

All Saints from their fifth studio album, '' Testament'' (2018). Written by group member

Shaznay Lewis Tricia Marie "Shaznay" Lewis (born 14 October 1975) is an English singer, songwriter and a member of the girl group All Saints. She has co-written most of the group's songs, including number one singles: "Bootie Call", "Pure Shores" and internat ...

and producer

K-Gee Karl Clive Gordon, known by the stage name K-Gee, is a British DJ, producer, rapper and songwriter and former member of the Outlaw Posse. Gordon was brought up listening to reggae by his father and was inspired to become a DJ after listenin ...

, it premiered as the album's

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

's ''

The Chris Evans Breakfast Show ''The Chris Evans Breakfast Show'' (currently referred to on-air due to sponsorship reasons as ''The Chris Evans Breakfast Show with Sky'') is the name given to two versions of a radio programme hosted by broadcaster Chris Evans in the United K ...

'' on 31 May 2018.

Writing and inspiration

wrote "Love Lasts Forever" with producer

more than a year prior to its release. It was inspired by Lewis' son who was about to leave high school, and reflected on the pressure from society to grow and achieve. She wanted to reassure him that "the family will be here and the love will still be here whenever you need to come back and be protected from all of that."

Melanie Blatt Melanie Ruth Blatt (born 25 March 1975) is an English singer. She rose to fame in 1997 as a member of the girl group All Saints. The group have gained five number one singles, two multi-platinum albums, two BRIT Awards and have sold over 10 mil ...

listened to the track for four hours on repeat after Lewis sent it to her, and recalls it being the first from '' Testament'' that she instantly liked and thought "we're fine, this is good, this album is going to be amazing."

Release and reception

"Love Lasts Forever" was released as the album's

on 31 May 2018, after Lewis and

Nicole Appleton Nicole Marie Appleton (born 7 December 1974) is a Canadian singer and television presenter. She is a member of the British girl group All Saints and Canadian duo Appleton with her elder sister Natalie Appleton. Early life Appleton was born ...

appeared on

's ''

'' for its radio premiere. It was added to

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's New Music Friday and

Apple Music Apple Music is a music, audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users select music to stream to their device on-demand, or they can listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the Internet radio stations Apple M ...

's Best of the Week playlists upon release. On 8 June 2018, an

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

featuring five remixes was released. The song became a radio hit in the UK, according to the

Official Charts Company The Official Charts (legal name: The Official UK Charts Company Limited) is a British inter-professional organization that compiles various "official" record charts in the United Kingdom, Ireland and France. In the United Kingdom, its charts inc ...

. It was playlisted by BBC Radio 2 and peaked at number 33 on the UK Airplay Chart.

Critical response

"Love Lasts Forever" received generally positive reviews from music critics. Andre Paine of the ''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'' commented, "The combination of steely harmonies and lush electronic textures is an appealing throwback". Jonathan Wright of ''

God is in the TV ''God Is in the TV'' is an independent music and culture online magazine founded by editor Bill Cummings in Cardiff in 2003. It publishes independent music reviews, features, interviews, podcasts and media. The webzine's coverage varies from un ...

'' believed it continued the group's "impeccable run of singles". In ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'', Phil Mongredien said the track "displays a deliciously light touch". ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

''s Elizabeth Aubrey appreciated its "layered and multi-faceted" sound. Michael Cragg of '' Q'' magazine found the song "sun-kissed" and cited it as an exception on ''Testament'' where "songs are often suffocated by vaguely outré production flourishes". In his review for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', Cragg wrote that the group's "icy harmonies keep this springy love fest about an inch away from full

Emeli Sandé Adele Emily Sandé, ( ; born 10 March 1987), known professionally as Emeli Sandé, is a Scottish singer and songwriter. Born in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, and raised in Alford, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, by an English mother and a Zambian fathe ...

." Laura Snapes, also writing in ''The Guardian'', derided the production, saying All Saints are "left eating dust by breathless drum'n'bass breakdowns". In 2018, the song was shortlisted for the

Popjustice £20 Music Prize The Popjustice £20 Music Prize, also known as the Popjustice Twenty Quid Prize, is an annual prize awarded by music website Popjustice to recognise the best British pop single of the previous year. The prize was conceived by Popjustice founder P ...

Live performances

All Saints performed the song on '' This Morning'' on 1 August 2018. On 9 September 2018, the group performed "Love Lasts Forever" at

Radio 2 Live in Hyde Park Radio 2 Live (formally known as Radio 2 Live in Hyde Park and Radio 2's Festival in a Day) is a British music festival that took place from 2011 to 2019 in Hyde Park in London, and is due to be held in Leeds in September 2022. The idea behind the ...

. The track was also performed on their 2018 Testament Tour.

Track listing

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2018 singles 2018 songs All Saints (group) songs Songs written by K-Gee Songs written by Shaznay Lewis