“You know who it is”
A new band has recently hit the stage and has taken the charts by storm. However, there’s a catch: they’re a virtual group, where the members are depicted as corporeal musicians but as animated characters. Introducing the K-pop and American pop collaboration of the year, presented by Riot Games, K/DA! With members, Kai’Sa, Ahri, Akali and Evelynn (left to right), they have come to steal everyone’s hearts with their debut single “POP/STARS.”
“You want a dose of this”
“It’s K/DA, uh!”
K/DA’s members are actual playable characters, known as champions, in the game League of Legends (LoL, or League) voiced by G(I)-dle members Miyeon (Ahri) and Soyeon (Akali), and American pop stars Madison Beer (Evelynn) and Jaira Burns (Kai’Sa). In November, they performed “POP/STARS” at the 2018 League of Legends World Championships in South Korea for the opening ceremony and received more positive feedback than the actual theme song. The YouTube music video has gained 77 million views since it was published and is now on its way to surpassing the legendary 2014 LoL theme, “Warriors” by Imagine Dragons which currently has 187 million views.
“So keep your eyes on me now”
With this, they have successfully gained a following of Kpop fans, League players, and even the general populace that was there for the hype. Overall, the combination of amazing female vocal talents and a catchy melody has managed to unite these very different groups. It has also brought a lot of attention to the game characters; an avid LoL gamer states that it gets infuriating when everyone chooses the K/DA members when they are up for grabs on the weekly free-to-play champion rotation. Other than the increased attention on the individual members, it has also inspired a lot of people to start playing League as well. I am even considering it, even though I don’t typically play Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) games.
“Can you feel the rush now?”
Typically alongside a champion’s skin release, there is no lore behind them; if there is it is not as developed as K/DA’s, whose members have complete (albeit fictional) profiles. The profiles are available online on the official League of Legends website, easily accessible to all those curious about the newest addition to the virtual singers. As soon as the K/DA skins hit the market, everyone rushed to get them even with the high price tag of $10 each.
“We POP/STARS”
As it stands now, Riot plans on releasing more K/DA songs in the future. I look forward to seeing a full album from them and maybe even a male group. Perhaps we’ll hear more of Kai’Sa and a more dominant set of English lyrics next time.
“Ain’t nobody bringing us down down down down down down”
Watch the music video with the link below!
Lyrics: K/DA, “POP/STARS.” POP/STARS – Single, Riot Games, track 1, Apple Music