Twicehub's newest addition to the schedules, NewJeans, have dropped their latest song, "GODS". The song is a collaboration between the group and League of Legends (LoL), for the video game's annual "Worlds" tournament. Teased last week, the song is the most recent in a string of joint projects between Kpop and LoL.
A history of collaboration
In late October 2018, Bobby of iKon fame was featured in a remix of the song "RISE". It was the first ever collaboration that we got from the industry crossover. Surprising as it was to the community, it only a hint of things to come.
A week later, LoL released the hit song "POP/STARS", performed by the virtual Kpop girl group K/DA. The group was comprised of a mix of Kpop idols and international singers as opposed to other virtual groups like PLAVE and Feverse which are made solely of idols. While K/DA originally started out with members of (G)I-DLE, the group's 2020 mini album "ALL OUT" included members of TWICE as well. And it's not just the idols either, as some of the industry's songwriters like Bekuh BOOM and Kim Petras have also sang for K/DA as part of the aforementioned international singers.
For a time it may have seemed like K/DA was all that we could expect from the collaborations. But Jackson Wang, a former member of GOT7 (from the same company as TWICE), also released a song last year for the game called "Fire to the Fuse". And now comes "GODS". So while we don't know when K/DA will make a comeback, the trend is clear that Kpop idols are likely to continue featuring as the vocals behind future LoL songs.
NewJeans on stage
The 2023 Worlds finals starts on November 19th. There's no announcement yet, but NewJeans may perform "GODS" in the opening ceremony, as Bobby, K/DA, and Jackson have done for their songs in years prior. A schedule will be added for the group should it happen. Following that NewJeans will be off to North America for Music Bank in Mexico City and Immortal Songs in New York City.
League of Legends Kpop playlist: