Riot Games has unveiled Heartsteel, a new virtual League of Legends-themed band similar to Pentakill and K/DA.
Heartsteel features League of Legends champions Ezreal (vocalist), Kayn (rapper, instrumentalist), Aphelios (instrumentalist, songwriter), Yone (producer), K’Sante (co-leader, vocalist), and Sett (co-leader, rapper).
Whereas other League of Legends bands have a fairly obvious genre identity, Heartsteel is being dubbed as a “modern music collective,” with their inspiration coming from a variety of genres and eras. The people behind the music also represent a variety of genres from K Pop to rap.
BAEKHYUN, a member of the K-pop group EXO and SuperM, will be the voice of Ezreal. Cal Scruby, a Los Angeles-based rapper best known for his clever lyrics and quirky visuals, will play Kayn. ØZI, a singer-songwriter, music producer, performer, and creative director will be Sett. Finally, Tobi Lou, a multi-talented artist who has made a significant impact on the contemporary music scene, will be K’Sante.
“Riot’s virtual artists have been some of the most innovative and beloved music moments for our players,” said Maria Egan, Global Head of Music & Events at Riot Games Entertainment. “The idea of an all-male band has long been speculated on by fans and we’re so excited to bring this fantasy to life. HEARTSTEEL is a deep collaboration between all our talented in-house creative teams and some incredible new artists. The ethos of HEARTSTEEL is a supergroup of musical soulmates greater than the sum of its parts – a philosophy that our community embodies every day through their dedication to our games.”
Heartsteel’s debut single, PARANOIA, will launch at 8:00 AM PT on October 23. As with all of Riot’s other music, it will be available on all major streaming services as well as YouTube.
All of Riot’s previous virtual bands have done some kind of performance at the League of Legends World Championship, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Heartsteel pop up in Korea in a few weeks.
Without hearing the song it’s difficult to predict just how popular Heartsteel will be, but given the past success of Riot’s music arm, it will surely make some kind of impact on the charts. It will take a lot to outperform K/DA, the League of Legends K Pop group that dominated the mainstream charts and had genuine hit albums. However, if the reception to this debut single goes well, you might see Heartsteel come back with even more music in the future.
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