"Akali = Soyeon, irreplaceable" — I-dle's Soyeon and Miyeon's 'League of Legends girl group' K/DA comeback draws global fan cheers… 6 million views in 14 hours [K-EYES]

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"Feels more like K-pop than current K-pop" — I-dle's Miyeon and Soyeon, overseas fans 'go wild' over K/DA's first return in six years

Overseas fans are reacting enthusiastically to the return of virtual girl group K/DA, featuring I-dle members Miyeon and Soyeon, after a six-year hiatus.

K/DA released its new song "FIRESTARTER" and music video on the 19th. This marks their first new track in approximately six years, following "MORE," which was included on the 2020 mini-album "ALL OUT." The music video, uploaded to the official League of Legends YouTube channel, surpassed 6 million views within 14 hours of release and has garnered over 19,000 comments.

K/DA is a virtual K-pop girl group composed of champions (characters) from Riot Games' popular game "League of Legends." Real singers provide the voices for the characters. The group debuted at the opening ceremony of the 2018 World Championship (League of Legends World Championship), held in Incheon, performing their debut stage using augmented reality (AR) technology and instantly capturing global attention. The music video for their debut song "POP/STARS" has surpassed 668 million views on YouTube.

In this new track, Miyeon and Soyeon voice Ahri and Akali, respectively, just as they did at the group's debut. Sophie Powers joins as Evelynn, and British singer Mimi Webb takes on the role of Kai'Sa. The music video was produced by Fortiche, the French animation studio behind "POP/STARS" and the Netflix animated series "Arcane." The video announced the group's return after six years with an opening scene in which the members break out of coffins and come back to life.

Overseas fan reactions have been explosive. The most liked comment, "K/DA is definitely (Riot's) favorite child," received 43,000 likes. Another comment stating, "These days, K/DA feels more like K-pop than most K-pop comebacks," garnered over 12,000 likes. U.S. gaming media outlet Dexerto reported that fans are in agreement that the wait was worth it, noting reactions such as, "K/DA still holds the throne even after six years."

In particular, Soyeon's rap received widespread praise. Fans commented, "Soyeon's rap part needs to be studied," "Akali is irreplaceable without Soyeon," and "One of Soyeon's verses elevates everything. She is a unique presence in K-pop."

The scene where Kai'Sa performs voguing dance in sync with Soyeon's rap was cited as the highlight of the video. A comment reading, "It's unbelievable that Miyeon and Soyeon produced this level of quality as a side gig. I-dle fans always win," received over 3,000 likes.

Witty reactions also followed. Comments such as "Akali now spends more time making music than assassinating" (over 21,000 likes) and "Riot is actually a record label that makes games on the side" (over 16,000 likes) gained significant traction, along with the joke that "Miyeon and Soyeon are basically Riot employees at this point." Some fans also expressed regret over the absence of U.S. singer Madison Beer, who voiced Evelynn in the group's early days.

This comeback is drawing even more attention as it coincides with the period of the 2026 World Championship being held in the United States.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original