From League of Legends to K-Pop Sensations: The K/DA Story | IGN Inside Stories
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- čas přidán 5. 06. 2024
- K/DA is not a normal pop group. It was created by video game developer Riot Games, and its four members are all characters from League of Legends. But the girl group's catchy, K-Pop inspired tunes disguise these unusual origins, and have taken them on a journey to unlikely chart-topping success. Far more than a marketing gimmick, K/DA has become a phenomenon in its own right.
This is the inside story of how the studio behind League of Legends took on the music industry and created a pop sensation.
We talk to the creators of the band at Riot Music, as well as K/DA members Madison Beer and Jaira Burns, to tell the tale of how it all came together. Following breakout global stars like BTS, Blackpink, and (G) I-DLE, K/DA has built on the foundations set by Riot with its metal band Pentakill, and has led to the creation of new projects like True Damage and Sessions. With hits such as MORE, POP/STARS, and THE BADDEST, plus a full EP called ALL OUT already released, the future's looking bright for Ahri, Evelynn, Akali and Kai'Sa.
Intro: 00:00
Riot Games Music's Beginnings: 01:26
Finding a New Sound: 4:18
The Birth of K/DA: 7:50
POP/STARS: 11:14
ALL OUT: 19:22
The Future: 23:12
Credits: 26:45 - Hry
its crazy to me that KDA have a fandom that dont care or play league at all, its testament to how well KDA works
Legit never played lol and I’m a major fan
Actually got into league through pop stars by kda
kpop
It’s like a next generation sort of Gorillaz moment to me.
Its called guerilla marketing
"Riot isn't just a video game development company. It's something... More." *plays Baddest*
LMAOO
lmaoooooooooooooooo
they had a perfect shot lined up and missed it 😔
Definitely the one who edited, not listen to kda
once again commenting on KDA content.. so this is where you've been. 😂
not a single word about the 3d artists and animators... "Fortiche" the studio behind the 3d art of kda did an amazing job at bringing the characters to life!
Even two others that worked on more and the other concept videos like axis studios, amiga Studio
Right?! Well thanks for posting this. But know this: those artists get to put that on their resumé. If not, then that's messed up.
Riot concentrated on the game and the music.
TBH, Fortiche used this production to pave its way as video Producer. 3/4 year later, they show us ARCANE.
@@KiX-K4T13 fortiche also worked with arcane. Fortiche and riot are friends. They probably were busy at making arcane that time.
Riot needs to realize we don't need KDA skins every time they release something... we just want more music!! skins are a bonus LOL
Well, they want money from those skins tho.
Jimi yeah but if the reason they aren’t making more music is because they don’t want to make more skins, then the skins are just holding it back.
@@jacksond7956 You are missing yhe point here. Yes Riot makes great music for sure. Not gonna debate that. But the problem is that Riot is a gming company first and LOL is one of their Main Games and skins is mostly their revenue and hence whybthe need to make skins for eqch álbum. Music only doesnt make them
They can make new skins for other champs and expand the universe... (and new pentakill album when?)
@@animagkrasver9872 Didnt Riot teased Pentakill’s comeback in September 8?
The animation quality of Villian is on a whole 'nother level
Evelynn!!
All the budget went there lmao
people are also failing to realize because most of the scenes in villain are just textures
barely any model animation which takes the longest to make
the scenes that has evelyn's model in Villain are in the dark which is faster to animation because you just need to work on the shape
Virtual artists is the future
Kaisa's song budjet went there lol.
Please keep the original lineup of KDA (Miyeon & Soyeon of (G)I-DLE, Madison Beer, & Jaira Burn) coz they really fit with the characters. We're waiting for KDA's original lineup comeback too.
It just feel so 'meh' when they changed Kaisa & Evelynn
Wouldn't it be better if we have various artists? Different artists would cater to different people that way a lot of people would enjoy it more. There are over 100 million League players and not everyone would want the same artists over and over.
@@I30e Who voiced them and on which song do they changed them?
@itissillygucci oh... On the villain video it says 'villain ft. Madison Beer and Kim Petras'. So she sang a part of it or what?
@@malsawmzela609 both madison and kim sang parts in that song.
I'm really curious how RIOT came to find Soyeon and Miyeon in the first place. When they started the project (G)I-DLE hadn't even debuted yet, and by the time KDA performance came round (G)I-DLE had already blown up as a hit group.
Crazy how RIOT saw their potential and got them onboard before they had even debuted or become a big group.
They would still know of the idols even if they hadn't debuted yet.
Soyeon was a well known rapper from her pre-debut survival shows and Miyeon was actually a (7 year?) rookie with YG as one of the trainees that was supposed to debut with the original concept for what we now know as BlackPink.
So idols are technically still "around" before debut. All Riot did find rookies that fit what they wanted those to characters to be and we're so glad they picked our girls 🤩
"South Korea is one of the most important countries for Riot, It is home to one of the largest league of legends playerbases as well as the most successful team in the game's professional scene." *continues to show a chinese team*
And that's the reason why we have Seraphine
IMAO
sadge =(
@@Ladymonstermoon
That’s a myth.
K/DA is the sole reason I'm into KPOP today
Well I’m not into Koop more into drum and bass like trap hellcat and slushii because fortnite had those concert in the past
Same!
same
g-idle are great 👌
bro SAMEEEE
Riot is a Music studio, they make games to promote their songs.
YOU GODDAMN RIGHT THEY DO
lol
Riot is now a Music/Animation/sometimes Game Company
They leave the competition with Dota and continue to compete on music industry then
KDA songs never gets old. Just gets better and better with time.
Couldn't agree more!
True♥️
@@tardwrangler1019 what does that question has anything to do with KDA?
@@tardwrangler1019 just let them enjoy it, please
@@tardwrangler1019 Older than you probably.
Miyeon's vocal really fits Ahri's visual. They even look uncanny like each other if Miyeon ever decides to dye her hair blonde with pink ends. A true representation of who a lot of us have Ahri in mind. Hoping to hear more of Miyeon Ahri in the future Riot Music!
nah bro more madison plsss
this person was talking abt ahri not eve 💀
@@pepsiman4418 madison is evelynn💀💀 who is different from ahri😂😂😂
yeah it fits perfectly
Fun fact : ahri also dye her hair blonde and wear blue contacts ( sources: kda Twitter “ its okay to look back”)
I’m a sucker for a K/DA content.
Smh lol
Welcome to the Club 🙌
We're always asking for MORE.
Your not alone!
Virtual artists is the future
In one of her VLIVE, Soyeon said she’s currently busy with another project that she can’t tell us. Could it be the K/DA or True damage comeback? OMG.
Ahh! OMG
😭🥺
Omg the league championship is coming... We gonna wait ..
*SCREAMS*
Could be for the Valorant Champions or could be even for other games or companies not related to games haha
im not even joking , at this point ....the music department is hard carrying riot games events.
The Riot music department is probably bigger than the development department 😂😂
@@GabrielSouza-ie1tt def bigger than the balance department
KDA gives a vibe different from other kpop songs.... The sound, lyrics they provide high quality music
Agree
Idc what anyone saying, vocally and visually and even personality-wise, the OG team (Miyeon as Ahri, Soyeon as Akali, Madison as Evelynn and Jaira as Kaisa) is perfect. Please let them cb as the OG team!
It just feel so 'meh' when they changed Kaisa & Evelynn
@@I30e Evelynn? She was voiced by Madison they didnt change her and Villain was probably the best KDA song.
@@itsgonnabeokay9341 In the baddest Evelynn was voiced by Bea Miller
100%
They'll come back as an og except it'll prolly take years
Although not a fan of League, their musics are seriously banger
My gf dont like the vídeo games but he loves the music and cinematics of riot
@Pixle :) you know, league players....
@@Ultrmax21 Sus
@Pixle :) very sus
@@Ultrmax21 there’s a CZcams video where a dude was asking to play the game or no and every comment said no
17:47 Madison saying they were gonna “spawn” cracked me up lol
😂😂
😂😂
same😂
Soyeon, Madison, Miyeon & Jaira fit the characters so perfectly...
the one playing as Kaisa doesn't have Kaisa vibes :s
@@piedrablanca1942 well she gave newbie vibes
They could form a band for a collaboration with non league contents, that would be great
@@GEM-eq9zj just gotta get soyeon to make a comeback😭
The fact they mentioned DJ SONA makes me have hope we could see her in an upcoming project ❤️
Maybe some EDM collaboration album (and some music videos) of DJ SONA and DJ YASUO ?
The EDM remixes of some of the tracks like Piercing Light and Project: Yi are so dope and I'd love to see another full album by DJ SONA
Probably not, they will just spend money on expensive animation if it is to advertise for a new skin
YO, AS AN ELECTRONIC FREAK IM DOWN FOR THAT.
I'd love to see more DJ Sona, the whole idea of an electronic artist that speaks exclusively through her music ist just awesome. Just hit me with a "DJ Sona remix" on every album and I'm fiiiiine.
Yyt
the selection of g-idle members for the voices of the kda members is amazing. soyeon suits akali so much. not only that, madison's voice sounds so suitable for evelyn.
Honestly you could've just talked about Riot's music team, probably the best in the videogame industry, from champ themes, event themes, skin themes, metal, edm, pop, kpop, hiphop, orchestral they're pretty consistent
True
Agree
Yes
all those who told Madison Beer left KDA because she's tired of KDA and blah blah blah etc., WHERE ARE YOU NOW cause you were all wrong. All 4 members enjoyed being part of KDA. Periodt.
But she did say she doesn't want to be known as 'the KDA girl'
@@faizalardillah1440 can you link it bro? (Or ma'am)
@@faizalardillah1440 weird of her to say because she has quite the solo career.
@@faizalardillah1440 every artist wants to be know by there name not as just a charecter person
@@faizalardillah1440 she literally has never said that.
well atleast the music team carried the balance team
Fed all the rioters for a while
Definitely xD
The lore team isn't doing great these days either.
@@malsawmzela609 if your talking about the ruination event that’s because the skins team wrote the lore for the event not the actual lore team… which seems normal
@@malsawmzela609 there was a lot of miscommunication between teams. Stories are still great.
"Kaisa, the main dancer", but always got the least screen time lol.
Not anymore in more..but her song is the weakest
@@HadirUntukAnda but if you put it in a dancer's perspective, her song have more room for different choreography to work with. There are really those types of song that are better to dance with rather than listen to
Her music video would have been the perfect opportunity to showcase her dancing talent.
@@HadirUntukAnda false, the least favourite of the EP is i'll show you (ahri's song), but every single song is strong on it's own and is amazing
@@blueangelsapphir7524 yes but animation is very very hard
I’m not a K-pop fan but KDA fascinates me. How can a group made of fictional characters make a song that gets half a billion views on CZcams?
17:50 notice how their reflections are on the floor below? That is truly some mind blowing stuff.
K-Pop sensation?
Dude, it became a religion.
Wouldn't appreciate K-Pop if not for KDA.
KDA supremacy 😩💅💖
No that's just the stan taking over. Pretty standard K-pop stuff.
Yeah. At this point, not having a K/DA skin, not watching and listening to K/DA once is just wierd, like some sort of heretic
"HEY WE CAN MAKE A RELIGION OUTTA THIS"
K/DA was the only K-pop group that attracted me. Now I'm a sucker for content, Fan-arts, their songs and Evelynn
It’s not Kpop
Yeah !! It's not k-pop
@@lennygomez6109 it's kpop
@@agyyxy8340 Oh no … 😭😭
the amount people saying they're not kpop. WHAT TF WRONG WITH YALL
“You find ways to root them into reality”
*Washing machine Ahri intensifies*
K/DA has had a chokehold on me since they “debuted” so honestly, whenever they drop K/DA content they’ll always have me as a consumer
When were far in the future, and there are hundreds of AI groups, I'll tell my kids that this is the best.
And the OG
Euuuuch
You don't have kids and you already plan to lie to them. Shame on you.
@@malphite8797 wdym kda is the best he ain't lying
@@pepsiman4418 Prove that, liar.
K/DA is great at what they do best, music.
And killing. Don't forget that
And rule34, don't miss that
@@grizius4123 yes *and marketing twitter strategy with **-Seraphine-** Musics*
Riot*
after (g)i-dle’s recent news, seeing miyeon and soyeon being part of this project it’s fresh air, thank you for this!
What happened?
One of the members(soojin)sunddenly left the group and it was poorly explained by their agency. She was the main dancer and very important for (g)-idle's performances.
@@kevinzawarrior one of the members is apparently a big bully.
@@blutch222 it was an accusation, please pipe down
@@deranged_miyeon_stan how do you know it was false? They called out and tried to sue the actress who was allegedly bullied. Suddenly Soojin had to leave... Seems like the opposite of false accusation.
Pop Stars and More used to be my niece's lullaby, heard me playing it stopped crying. She's focused on the MVs. And would immediately look at me as soon as it ends, signalling to replay.
The moment when they make a collaboration of DJ Sona, True Damage and K/DA, the internet will explode and the world will go wild
YES WE NEED A DJ SONA COMEBACK
Pentakill?
@@exe9790 highly doubt it'd be possible to mix pentakill's vibe and genre with the others tbh, but it would be cool to see them all together lol
Soyeon as Akali
Miyeon as Ahri is perfect
the one playing Kaisa needs to be replaced
@@piedrablanca1942 No
Awaken, Rise, and Legends Never Die are great too.
MISSING K/DA, COME BACK SOON
Maybe we will see them again at Worlds.
this year is for Pentakill
@@thanhtran982 Is this confirmed? That would be so hype! More Teemo torture!
Shouldn't True Damage be in the middle here? They came in between as sort of a transitional "let's try something else" thing before they came back to KDA. They get only one short mention in the ending.
Their song "More" just blows mind. It's a masterpiece. The vocals, melody and that sugar-coated mega chorus is just IMMENSE. Brilliant! What a track!
Madison Beer is the perfect Evelynn, change my mind. 💜
KDA is the one thing that bonds together Kpop stans and gamers alike. And I'm all for it
And the ones who aren't kpop stans neither gamers, like me >
I'm down for this sweet KDA Content 🤩🔥
As a non league player, theres just something about kda's music that keeps me listening to it even after getting tired of it for a while, like it's something that you'll come back to and listen again and again until you grow tired of it and then months later, you'll come back to it again to do the cycle- thats how it feels like for me
Thanks for choose Miyeon and Soyeon to be part at K/DA time!
and it helped them to expand their fandoms even when they were rookies
K/DA is like a staple now, and so is the rest of League's tracks, especially the ones made for World tourneys. Riot Games is definitely something more than just a game dev company.
Music studios don't have the resources to _hire_ animators to projects like this on a regular basic (give or take bands like Gorillaz or aespa), but a game developer? Animation is literally what they do. They have the equipment and the talent in-house, it's one less layer of contracting (and profit-taking), so it's really not surprising how viable it is as a business model...and how audiences react when its done well, as Riot has done!
We need a KDA comeback for 2022!!!
They better name it more badass YES.
finally we see some riot staff talk about the music they make and stuff its fun to see where its beginning came from and etc
Found K/DA through G-idle actually. Felt really proud of the girls haha
okay now give kda and maybe seraphine a comeback. idc if league players complain "omggg ahri already got 74 skins this year!" give us kda back! or maybe a boy group perhaps?
They not gonna blame ahri bc she was the fan favorite , they just gonna blame lux instead. Last time Ahri get sb and kda back to back and no one bitching.
Leaked boy group possibly debuting this year for worlds 2022
Love how Kda is within the same universe with true damage, dj sona and pentakill.
Td was brought by akali anyway
K/DA COMEBACK RIOT PLSSSS😭😭😭
PEOPLE ARE DYING RIOT😭🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
😭😭😭 they need announce something anything!
Then let people die.
Sim sim, volta KDA 😭❤️❤️❤️
NOW ITS TIME FOR KDA DOING A FULL ALBUM
watching this video makes me SO happy! KDA combines everything that excites me - dance, vocals, visuals,kpop, colors, energy....... riot created something truly Great. amazing video!
Hearing Popstars even today, years after its release still gives me goosebumps
It's nice to see that Riot is embracing it's true identity of a music studio which also does game development.
Kda... Shall we show'em how we do it everyday ?
NA NA NA NA
ON ME!
KALI THAT GIRL!
no
KALI GO GRRR
KALI DONT STOP
the company that uses games to promote their music
Who the Ign?
@@imnub3949 ?😂
do they know that blades are dying for a comeback? 💀
Next 2 year hahaha
Not if Pentakill has something to say about it
FR IM LITERALLY SITTING THERE IN MY ROOM, WAITING FOR A COMEBACK 😭
Not even KDA,True damage or pentakill.Anything riot plsss
Maybe theyre working on it lol we cant just expect new mvs since they animate it, it take months or even a year to make
The hots for KDA akali❤️🔥
Thanks so much for some content, the original singers for Akali and Ahri, Miyeon and Soyeon are having some... problems with their company right now. This cheered me up! :D :D
problems? wdym? :o
@@elodie4629 One of the members of G-IDLE was dismissed due to accusations of bullying in middle school.
@@peyton8242 Whoa, seriously? First I'd heard about that ... It wasn't either Miyeon or Soyeon themselves, was it?
@@embiggenedbadger4297 no it was a member named soojin
@@embiggenedbadger4297 no, the member is Soojin.
My Madison and Jaira, omg. They look so f*cking beautiful
Spotify just showed me my top songs of 2021. KDA was the top 5 songs that was played. We have never played the game and probably wont. But what Riot is coming out with in regards to music, music videos and now the show.. it's all A+. I've also started buying a lot of the collectables.
This is a group that brought me in to KPOP, I'll never forget that my first ever group was KDA
We need a "Battle of the bands" full Album of Riot... Just imagine the interactions, their world connecting even more
and to think now Riot is trying their hands at making animated shows is insane, they really are more than a game development company, and honestly its badass.
Wish you went a bit more into how Riot came to find Soyeon and Miyeon specifically because there's a lot of speculation amongst Gidle fans about this. Would have been fun for us to find out more about this process and whished they were also interviewed, but a great watch nonetheless ^^
Unpopular opinion: soyeon is the groups glue. Her raps are always the highlights of the song (I’m specifically only talking about the songs she in) and her delivery and voice just fit the vibe of the characters and song so well. She struggles to not stand out. Even in (g)idle, she always stands out. Please go support her solo mini album “Windy”. It’s honestly one of my all time fav releases this year.
this is not an unpopular opinion at all LMAO everyone knows she carries the songs
riot games music department carrying the whole company at this point its amazing
It's really sad to see you guys haven't interviewed K/DA's mom "Riot Stellari" aka Janelle Wavell-Jimenez
2023 and still waiting
Gorillaz started it all, kind of sad that they left out that part of the development for the K/DA concept. 20 years ahead of their time.. go check them out!
There were actual artists behind Gorillaz. This is the super commercialized hyper capitalist Tencent industry plant version of Gorillaz.
@@Shvabicu No it’s game character kpop lmfao 😂
Gorillaz was meant as a satire about how big soulless cooperations virtually create artificial bands that are 100% company owned, to get rid of this pesky artists that dare to demand a share of the immense profits their work makes for the shareholders. ... now here we are.
@@andarted exactly. These virtual bands and K-pop in general are conceived by corporate suits, not by band members/artists.
@@Shvabicu Soyeon (Akali) is literally a singer songwriter for her and g-Idee. Definitly not ture for every kpop act.
also, check out the music of league of legend albums, they are top tier.
Great video IGN, would love to see more documentary style content in the future!
I´m around about 50 to 150 hrs in listening to K/DA, third of that would be "Villain"
I’ve played VILLAIN 700+ Times on Apple Music
Me with MORE
Ow this is pretty nice can’t wait to see what you guys talk about
Edit: just finished watching and you did a great job with this IGN
The OG lineups of K/DA ! 💕 Miyeon Soyeon Madison Jaira 💕💕💕
I'm obsessed with K/DA and am just waiting for another album
When K/DA gets their own lightstick faster than other kpop idols
Where WHAAT WHERE IS IT
Appreciate the 1 second soojin screentime, time to cry again today
How a Animated Characters become so popular
loved the document, can't wait for more riot documentaries in the future, their philosophy of making things is always nice to hear
Omg did they just confirm dj sona is going to have a music release? What a serve.
I’ve said this when popstar came out and I’ll say it again. I’d C R Y my eyes out to see kda on a Netflix series or a movie..
the way riot high ups almost didn’t let K/DA happen
Please give us a physical album this time! 😭 I will frame the album for sure! Cuz K/DA are kings and queens to me lol
Matt, this was amazing - huge congrats on the video
They definitely made a lot of impact, this can be seen by Pixar's boy band in Turning Red.. So excited to see more of these lol
whoever edited this video for the intro to flow like THAT.. ur amazing
while watching this it gave me goosebumps thinking on the idea of how K/DA was created. such a big imagination and creativity was put into it and made fictional characters feel real people. amazing.
Im getting goosebumps while watching the whole documentary
This was great. Loved the insight.
So Sebastien, and everyone who worked with you, you're all badasses yo!!
Well done! Great video!! Added these songs to my play list!
Love them so much, I'm so happy they're getting recognition
Tonight on Behind the Music only on MTV
Akali is ahead of her time (using face mask)
To make it simple, we most definitely need MORE.