K/DA

K/DA is a virtual pop group created by Riot Games for its League of Legends universe. It first appeared in the music video for “POP/STARS,” released on November 3, 2018, shortly before the 2018 League of Legends World Championship final in Incheon, South Korea. The project combined game characters Ahri, Akali, Evelynn, and Kai’Sa with performances by Madison Beer, (G)I-DLE members Soyeon and Miyeon, and Jaira Burns. In the song’s credits, Miyeon voices Ahri, Soyeon voices Akali, Madison Beer voices Evelynn, and Burns voices Kai’Sa.

“POP/STARS” became a major crossover success: its official video passed hundreds of millions of YouTube views, and the song reached No. 1 on Billboard’s World Digital Song Sales chart.

In 2020, Riot expanded K/DA with the EP ALL OUT, released on November 6. The rollout began with “THE BADDEST,” a single released in August and featuring Soyeon, Bea Miller, and Wolftyla alongside the group. “MORE” followed in October, featuring Madison Beer, Soyeon, Miyeon, and Lexie Liu. The five-track EP also included “VILLAIN,” “DRUM GO DUM,” and “I’LL SHOW YOU,” giving each character a distinct musical spotlight while retaining the group’s fictional identity.

K/DA’s fictional presentation is central to its appeal. Riot publishes biographies, lyrics, music videos, and promotional artwork as if the quartet were recording artists, while the performers remain separate real-world singers. The videos use computer animation to place the League champions in choreographed concerts and fashion-driven settings; “POP/STARS” especially established their neon, luxury-pop visual style. Their names and personalities draw on champion lore but are presented through an alternate pop-star concept rather than ordinary game narrative.

K/DA’s later activity has been less like a conventional touring group than a multimedia project. Riot used ALL OUT to develop a larger fictional comeback campaign, including social-media content, an in-universe reality-show format, and behind-the-scenes-style videos. The group also appeared in the opening ceremony for the 2020 World Championship through augmented-reality production, with “MORE” integrated into the event’s presentation. K/DA therefore occupies an unusual space: it is simultaneously a League of Legends marketing creation, a charting music act, and a sustained fictional universe with real vocalists attached to animated characters. Its success helped demonstrate that a game company could launch a virtual group whose songs circulated independently of the game, while still making champion identities—Ahri, Akali, Evelynn, and Kai’Sa—the foundation of the act. That formula made K/DA one of Riot Games’ recognizable musical extensions of League of Legends worldwide.