From heavy metal to K-pop, Riot Games produces tons of music while also owning some of the most popular video games of all time.
League of Legends
For those unfamiliar with Riot Games, League of Legends and K/DA, let me explain. In 2009, Riot Games released League of Legends (LoL), an multiplayer online battle arena where two teams of five aim to defend their half of the map and destroy the other team’s. For anyone in the gaming space, LoL is a well-recognized game for many reasons including its massive esports competitions and unfortunately, the generally toxic playerbase. The game’s success has led to the brand entering spaces outside of video games. Comic books, short stories, spin-off games, a Netflix series, and the topic of this piece, music.
the dive into music
Checking out League of Legend’s Spotify account, you can find music dating back to 2015.The first track with vocals on it is “Worlds Collide” with Nicki Taylor which was used in a promotional video for the LoL 2015 Worlds Final. The first vocal track made for LoL, however, is “Warriors” featuring Imagine Dragons, which was made to promote the 2014 World Championship. The Spotify account doesn’t see another vocal track until 2017 in “Legends Never Die” with Against the Current, also used in a promotional video, this time for the start of the 2017 LoL World Championship. Also released in 2017 was the single “As We Fall” has unattributed vocals.
2018’s “RISE” is where a shift in muscial focus occurs. While the majority of music produced before this point was instrumental, more collaborations with the game begin here. Also in 2018 was the girl group K/DA’s first single, “Pop/Stars.” “Raise Up the Lights,” Bring Home the Glory,” and “Start it Up” are some of the songs that bring us through 2019 and into 2020. This year, K/DA released their first (and only) album All Out.
K/DA changes the game
K/DA’s music differs from the songs discussed previously for so many reasons. Firstly, they were the first group to be created by Riot, whereas previous music was made by different people each time. For this group, two members of the K-pop girl group (G)I-dle, Miyeon and Soyeon, along with Madison Beer and Jaira Burns, leant their voices to the group’s four members. These four members, Ahri, Evelynn, Kai’sa, and Akali are playable champions in LoL that were transformed into popstars for this project. Artists like Bea Miller, Kim Petras, Wolftyla, Bekuh Boom and K-pop group Twice featured on the album. Another artist who appears on one song is Seraphine, another LoL champion who actaully has solo songs as well. Akali also appeared on VERIFIED by Genius to explain the lyrics to their song “MORE.” As you may be able to tell based on the scope of K/DA, this was Riot’s first move towards making “their company more as a full-fledged music label.” Since 2020, K/DA has been defunct despite telling their fans, called Blades, on Instagram that they would be back to make music again “one day.” Seraphine has also been silent since this time.
Since k/da
Riot didn’t stop producing music after their girl group’s album release. “Starts Right Here,” “Rebirth,” and “Burn it All Down” are vocal tracks that released before the Netflix show Arcane, which came with a full album of new music, some of which even made it into mainstream pop music spheres. “Enemy” by Imagine Dragons and JID was huge, peaking at number five on the US Billboard Hot 100. Since the show and corresponding album’s release, Riot has continued to make both instrumental and alternative music similar to the songs mentioned above. The company also hasn’t stopped working with K-pop artists, with one of the most recent releases, “GODS” featuring the extremely popular girl group NewJeans.
Bands on bands
While K/DA was just discussed extensively, there are actually two more LoL groups. True Damage, who only released one song after K/DA stopped releasing music and Pentakill, a heavy metal band that first released an album in 2014, one in 2017, another in 2021, and, most recently, a single in 2022. In late 2023, the boy band HEARTSTEEL released their first single PARANOIA. This group follows a very similar structure to K/DA in using six playable LoL champions, Sett, Aphelios, Ezreal, Kayn, Yone, and K’Sante. The artists who give life to these characters are Tobi Lou, Baekhyun of EXO, Cal Scrubby, and ØZI. Aside from the gender of the group, HEARTSTEEL is different from K/DA in having Aphelios and Yone as members of the group despite not being performers.
Leaving League
Riot Games also owns the first-person shooter, VALORANT. As of now, VALORANT’s library consists of music similar to LoL’s earlier vocal tracks. No characters are tied to the music and featured artisits are heavily emphasized. The first VALORANT music release came in 2021 in “WATCH” with Stella Mwangi. Two albums, one EP and many singles have been steadily releasing since the launch with the most recent release being the album MV//VNT VOL. 2.
Conclusion
In an age where attention spans are seemingly lower than ever, its essential for companies that seek longevity to branch out. For Riot Games, this expansion has come in many artistic forms, especially music. While Riot may stand out for their unique portfolio now, who knows what other video game companies have up their sleeves.
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