Gaming’s queens of pop have returned. K/DA, the official K-pop girl group of multiplayer giant League of Legends has just released a new song. Titled “THE BADDEST.” The track is the first new release from K/DA since their debut single, “POP/STARS.” It is also paving the way for an eventual EP.
Check out the music video for “THE BADDEST:”
K/DA is a K-pop group made up of four League of Legends champions: Akali, Kai’Sa, Evelynn, and Ahri, all dressed in full performance regalia. Backing up their performances are the voices of real-life singers. K/DA’s first incarnation, which released “POP/STARS,” featured SOYEON and MIYEON from (G)-IDLE (they played Akali and Ahri). American singers Madison Beer (as Evelynn) and Jaira Burns (as Kai’Sa) completed the foursome. The group even performed in an AR concert to open the 2018 World Finals. For “THE BADDEST,” however, only the (G)-IDLE girls returned. Wolftyla and Bea Miller instead fill in the roles of Evelynn and Kai’Sa for the new song.
K/DA may add more names to the list, as its comeback will also extend a bit further this time around. The League of Legends quartet will release an EP later this year, featuring multiple other artists as collaborators. Whether those artists will also be taking the roles of champions to add to the roster is unknown, but rumors suggest the new champion, Seraphine, might be joining up.
Beyond the K-pop stylings of K/DA, League of Legends is also expanding its pop-cultural reach into hip-hop. A virtual group called True Damage also released their own song, “GIANTS,” in 2019:
K/DA’s “THE BADDEST” can be heard on Youtube, as well as on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Deezer, and Youtube Music. League of Legends is available now for PC, and if the pattern serves, it won’t be too long before players can acquire the K/DA champions’ looks as skins in the game.
