Since 2018, League of Legends and K-pop fans alike have been eagerly awaiting more of Riot Music’s K/DA. The members of the girl group may be fictional but the hype around “Popstars” was absolutely real. Even now, it is one of the most played songs on Beat Saber and the most viewed video on the official League YouTube channel.
Now, in an excellent choice of re-focus due to some aspects of Worlds 2020 being shut down by Covid-19 regulations, K/DA is back. “The Baddest” released on August 27th, with new additions to the vocal talent, American pop artist Bea Miller and Korean-American R& artist Wolftyla. Both lent their voices to K/DA members Evelynn and Kaisa, respectively. This song took a while to really hit with fans. It was short, no music video, and definitely a different sound than “Popstars.” But this wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Kaisa got more lines, which was a primary complaint about dedicated fans. Most importantly, “The Baddest” marked the beginning of the new K/DA era. The EP, ALL OUT is coming on November 6th.
Going back to their 2NE1 like structure and featuring new singer and upcoming champion Seraphine, “MORE” dropped. The internet broke, as it should. Minus some suspect dance animations (no mocap available during quarantine), the visuals were gorgeous. Where is it set? No idea but it looked stunning, like most K-pop music videos to be honest. The track plays to fan favorites: Akali’s (SOYEON) hype verses and Evelynn’s (Madison Beer voicing this time) sultry vocals. Ahri (MIYEON) and Kaisa (Jaira Burns) held their own nicely. The only performance I found lacking was Seraphine’s (Lexie Liu) feature. While I applaud Riot for including Chinese lyrics sung by a Chinese singer, the gentle nature of Seraphine’s voice just didn’t mesh well with the overall feel of “MORE.” Perhaps, Seraphine will thrive more with her solo career which has been well received, although the champion has not.
The hype is still real though, fanatics. We have three more songs that have yet released with the return of Wolftyla, Bea Miller. Kim Petras, Bekkah Boom, Annika Wells, and J-pop girl group TWICE, are also set to be on the mini-album. I can’t wait to see what else K/DA releases next week with the ALL OUT event. Is this hope for the other Riot Music groups like True Damage or Pentakill? Time can only tell. But one thing is for sure. STAN K/DA.
