Listen to IU’s rock-tinged cover of IVE’s ‘Eleven’

South Korean singer IU has performed a cover of girl group IVE’s debut single, ‘Eleven’.

On January 20, IU released the 31st episode of her YouTube music talk show IU’s Palette, featuring IVE as guest stars. As part of the episode’s ‘Colour Switch’ segment, she performed a cover of the band’s 2021 debut single ‘Eleven’, while IVE returned their rendition of ‘Holssi’, which IU released last year.

IU employed a live band complete with a cellist, drummer, bassist, keyboardist for a rock-tinged, self-arranged version of the song. Meanwhile, IVE sang a stripped-back version of ‘Holssi’ with the band but mostly stayed faithful to the original.

“You arranged ‘Eleven’ really well in your own way,” Gaeul told her after both performances. After the segment, IU also shared a short clip of herself covering IVE’s ‘Either Way’, having considered it for her cover this episode.

IVE’s appearance on IU’s series comes a week after the six-piece dropped ‘Rebel Heart’, a pre-release track lifted from their upcoming mini-album ‘IVE Empathy’. Due out in full on February 3, the record is set to mark their first music in nine months.

Prior to ‘Rebel Heart’, IVE dropped the ‘IVE Switch’ mini-album in April 2024, whch featured title tracks ‘HEYA’ and ‘Accendio’. In the time between releases, IVE have embarked and completed their first-ever world tour, titled ‘Show What I Have’. The band performed 37 concerts in total across 19 countries in regions such as Asia, US, Europe and South America.

On January 15, members Wonyoung and Yujin also guest-starred on Korean talk show Yoo Quiz On The Block, where they opened up about the hardships of being K-pop idols. “I don’t even want to hear them, but people judge me from a few seconds of a video without knowing who I am as a person,” shared Wonyoung.

“If I were an office worker, it would be as if I’m being assessed 24/7,” Yujin added. “I’d want to read [comments] even at midnight or when I wake up in the morning. It was frightening and worrisome when I catch myself having unconscious thoughts about how the public is perceiving me.”