Kygo & Ava Max collab on “Whatever”

On January 19, 2024, Norwegian DJ and music producer Kygo released “Whatever,” a collaboration with singer-songwriter Ava Max. I have some familiarity with Kygo through hearing his material on KNHC 89.5 FM in Seattle, and I know Ava Max from the song “Kings & Queens.” When I saw that the two of them released a collaboration together, I decided that I needed to check it out.

Musically, the song starts out with some latin guitar and percussion until it reaches the chorus… and a sample of Shakira’s “Whenever, Wherever” appears, and the vocal delivery is done to match the sample. The second verse sounds like the first musically until reaching the chorus again. After the second chorus, the song continues to rely on the Shakira sample for the remainder of the track. While I like the sound of the song, I’m a little disappointed on how much the Shakira sample is relied on. If that sample were to be stripped out, there wouldn’t be a lot left musically on the track.

Lyrically, the song is from the point of view of a speaker who has gotten out of a romantic relationship, but they realize that they were never good together and that they won’t shed any tears over the breakup. Ava’s vocal delivery really helps to sell the lyrics, and she sounds like she’s genuinely delivering their emotion and intent.

Overall, I have to say that “Whatever” is a catchy song, but that I’m personally a little disappointed in how much it relies on the sample of “Whenever, Wherever.” If it was simply just the interpolation for the chorus, I wouldn’t have such an issue with it. But after that second chorus, the Shakira sample plays such an important role in the track musically, to the point where it’s almost distracting to me. Listeners who aren’t familiar with the Shakira song won’t have that issue, though, so they should have an easier time enjoying this track for what it is.

I would give this single 3 out of 4 stars and you can listen to it here.