K/DA, the virtual K-pop troupe of “POP/STARS” fame starring various League of Legends characters, is releasing their first album, All Out, on 6 November.
This news follows K/DA’s first new music in two years, with the virtual quartet dropping “THE BADDEST”, a beat-heavy braggadocio bop back in August, and since teasing more tracks for the upcoming EP on social media.
For the uninitiated, K/DA exploded onto the League scene in 2018 with a dazzling performance of “POP/STARS” at the League of Legends World Championships, impressively combining live performers alongside augmented-reality characters.
“POP/STARS” was an absolute hit, racking up nearly 380 million YouTube views and over 150 million Spotify streams. It even garnered widespread popularity outside of its League origins, appearing as a free DLC track on VR rhythm game Beat Saber, where it is objectively the best track slightly ahead of Noisestorm’s “Crab Rave”.
K/DA — made up of League characters Ahri, Akali, Evelynn and Kai’Sa — mixes English and Korean vocals into one sweet sound, with a combination of singing and rapping.
Various real-life performers provide the singing voices for the characters, including (G)I-dle lead vocalist Miyeon, (G)I-dle rapper Soyeon, Madison Beer who has since been replaced by Bea Miller, and Wolftyla stepping in for Jaira Burns.
Naturally, K/DA have become super popular within their own game, with plenty of in-game content and cosmetic skins available for players to show their K-pop devotion.
Look at these absolute queens.
With new music on the way, it wouldn’t be a stretch to think K/DA will be making an appearance at the 2020 Worlds — where Australia’s Legacy recently competed — ahead of the group’s EP. A recent tweet using the tournament’s hashtag via the official K/DA account indicates it’s a pretty safe bet.
In the meantime, you can read K/DA’s webcomic series to learn more about the characters and the lore behind the music — what a time we’re living in.
For now, I’m going to dust off the VR and practice my “POP/STARS” dance moves in Beat Saber, and chuck “THE BADDEST” on repeat — for research, of course. Ain’t nobody bringing me down down down down…
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Chris is an award-nominated writer based in Adelaide who specialises in covering video games and technology. He loves Donkey Kong Country, sport, and cats. The Last Jedi is the best one, no questions asked.
