"Never Ever" is All Saints' highest-charting single, topping the charts in several countries, including Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

It peaked within the top 10 in numerous other countries, including Ireland, Sweden, Canada, the Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Norway, Austria and the United States.

The song was written by All Saints member Shaznay Lewis along with co-writers Robert Jazayeri and Sean Mather, and was produced by Cameron McVey and Magnus Fiennes.

[3] All Saints flew to the United States, where the song was recorded and produced by Mather and Jazayeri.

Lewis was in tears over the success of "Never Ever", since it was written about a personal broken relationship, and said, "I never believed that so much good could come out of such a bad situation."

Robert Jazayeri, who wrote the song, issued a writ against All Saints, and they were granted 40% of the publishing rights to the track.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic described the musical content as an "extraordinary gospel-tinged" song.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic named the song as a highlight on its album, stating it "lead[s] the way" for All Saints' career.

"[9] A reviewer from Music Week rated it five out of five, adding that "the Saints go gospel and sultry in this follow-up to I Know Where It's At.

"[10] Paul Martin from The News Letter commented that the song "has already made an impact on the charts, but those listening to the album version will be in for a bit of a surprise.

"[11] Nick Butler from Sputnikmusic stated, "'Never Ever' is a fantastic song; quite rightfully, it still gets a fair bit of airplay today, and I still enjoy it whenever it appears on one of those VH1 Power Ballad days or whatever.

It was successful in the charts and was certified double platinum by Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), with sales of 140,000.

When this song was first released in Europe, the accompanying music video featured the girls first in a swimming pool and then in a house.

At the 1998 Brit Awards, All Saints won two Brit Awards for this single: Best British Single and Best British Video, beating strong competition from the likes of "Bitter Sweet Symphony" by The Verve, "Song 2" by Blur, "Paranoid Android" by Radiohead and "Something About the Way/Candle in the Wind 1997" by Elton John.

The melody of the song is based upon an overlay of the hymn tune "New Britain", the most common setting for "Amazing Grace", which according to Ger Tillekens is the reason it became so successful.