Back in 2018, four artists represented a fictional girl group that was included on the widely popular multiplayer online game League of Legends. Together, they released the track called "Pop/Stars" and did a live performance of the song during the game's World Championship. At the stage, the four artists perform alongside their virtual counterparts via augmented reality. The virtual performance received critical acclaim and has attracted the attention of both gamers and non-gamers alike.
The music video for the song went viral with over 365 million views, 4.3 million likes, and 234 comments as of this writing. Aside from that, the K-pop inspired track also reached the top of Billboard's World Digital Song Sales chart.
Four artists were tapped to represent the video game characters, each with their own distinct theme. They have worked together for months under the direction of League of Legends developer Riot Games. Get to know more about the four talents behind the virtual K-pop girl group K/DA:
Jaira Burns
During the earlier stages of the project, Burns was tapped and had her write lyrics, melodies, and provide "ideas of what the song was going to be." She contributed some musical content before having to leave temporarily to do some of her shows. When she returned, the song was already finished.
Burns was so nervous about the performance that she threw up earlier before it happened.
Jaira Burns is her real name and the blue-haired talent started her music career with cover songs on YouTube. She later released her debut single "Ugly" and was later followed by EP title track "Burn Slow." "Ugly" was used in a commercial for headphones Balmain and Beats Electronics. The last song she uploaded on her YouTube channel was "Goddess."
She represents the League of Legends champion Kai'Sa, the daughter of the void. The purple character is a marksman who uses a swarm of void missles to harass her foes. Her theme revolves around a human host who merged with an alien insect to survive harsh environments.
Madison Beer
When the song was already finished, Beer was brought in. She mentioned she was intrigued to learn more about the world inside the game. That is because, aside from getting included in the project, her little brother is a Twitch gamer.
Madison Beer was discovered when one of her YouTube cover was posted by Justin Bieber, also discovered via the video-sharing platform, on Twitter. She eventually landed a record deal with Island Records and released her first extended play As She Pleases. In 2020, Beer is planning to release her debut album Life Support via Epic Records.
She represents Evelynn, the Agony's Embrace. Her theme is that of a vengeful spirit who seduces her prey through promises of desire but later betrays them with infinite torment.
(G)I-DLE's Miyeon and Soyeon
Completing the group are two Korean talents Miyeon and Soyeon, members of K-pop girl group (G)I-DLE. Soyeon shared that the language barriers were tough to handle. Aside from that, they were worried because this is the first time that they worked with non-Korean partners.
Miyeon represents the nine-tailed fox Ahri while Soyeon represents rogue assassin Akali. Ahri specializes in seducing the target before reducing them to nothing. On the other hand, Akali uses a hit-and-run approach while moving in and out of cover.
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