Both a virtual and physical all-girl pop group, K/DA exists as part of the video game League of Legends. The group marked their debut with the 2018 single "Pop/Stars."

K/Da showcases the talents of singer Miyeon (aka Ahri) and singer Soyeon (aka Akali (both actual members of the K-pop group (G)-IDLE), as well as singers Madison Beer (aka Evelynn), and Jaira Burns (aka Kai’Sa). Each member of the group appears as their accompanying character (or "character skin") in the game League of Legends. In 2018, Riot Games launched the group with the premiere of the song "Pop/Stars" at the League of Legends championship in Incheon, South Korea. Two years later, the K/DA issued their debut EP, All Out, which included the hit singles "More" and "The Baddest." ~ Matt Collar

Platinum-selling singer, songwriter, producer, and author Madison Beer is known for her effervescent and yearning pop. After earning a co-sign from Justin Bieber and a major-label deal while she was in her early teens, she honed a style that paired her breathy, soothing vocals with a mix of electronic pop, alt-rock, and R&B. She earned acclaim with 2018's Billboard 200-charting EP As She Pleases and collaborations with Offset (2018's "Hurts Like Hell"), and Europa (the 2019 U.K. Top Ten single "All Day and Night"). Beer's creative autonomy grew on 2021's debut album Life Support, where she expressed a confessional vulnerability about mental health and heartache that extended to 2023's memoir The Half of It and her second full-length, Silence Between Songs. She landed another hit with the 2024 single "Make You Mine."

A music lover and experimenter from an early age, Long Island, New York's Madison Elle Beer started posting videos of herself singing covers of various well-known songs as a 13-year-old in early 2012. Within a few months, pop idol Justin Bieber came across her version of Etta James' "At Last" and shared it with his millions of Twitter followers. The resulting media coverage led her to a record deal with Island Records and a management deal with Bieber's manager the following year. Around that time, Beer was also cast in a small role in the independent film Louder Than Words, which starred David Duchovny and made its film festival premiere late in 2013. Her debut single, the poppy, melismatic "Melodies," also saw release late that year. She followed it with June 2014's "Unbreakable." Along with releasing her own single "Something Sweet" in 2015, Beer worked with Jack & Jack on "All for Love" and with Mako on the club track "I Won't Let You Walk Away," which appeared on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs, Dance/Electronic Digital Songs, and Dance/Mix Show Airplay charts in the U.S.

Three years in the making, Beer's debut EP As She Pleases arrived in February 2018. Peaking at 93 on the Billboard 200 in the U.S., it also charted in Australia, the U.K., and Europe. The singles "Dead" and "Home with You" also fared well, with the former certified gold in the U.S., silver in the U.K., and platinum in Australia and Canada, and the latter certified gold in the U.S. and Australia, silver in the U.K., and platinum in Canada. That year, Beer issued the single "Hurts Like Hell" featuring Offset, which went gold in the U.S. and Australia and platinum in Canada. She also supported As She Pleases with a European and North American tour that included a date at 2018's Lollapalooza. In March 2019, Beer appeared on "All Day and Night" by Europa, the project of DJs Jax Jones and Martin Solveig. Another success, the single was a Top Ten hit in the U.K. and Ireland and was ultimately certified platinum in the U.K. and gold in France and Canada. That May, she released "Dear Society," which received gold certification in Australia.

In mid-2019, Beer signed with Epic Records, making her debut on the label with the January 2020 single "Good in Goodbye." Her next release, "Selfish," appeared on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart in the U.S. (where it was certified platinum) and the Hot 100 chart in Canada (where it was certified gold). Both singles featured on Beer's debut album, February 2021's Life Support. A darker, confessional set of songs incorporating hints of alt-rock and R&B, it peaked at 65 on the U.S. 200 Albums chart and earned over a billion streams. That June, Beer issued the single "Reckless," which appeared on the U.S. Mainstream Top 40 chart. That year also saw the release of "Carried Away" with Surf Mesa, "Room for You," a contribution to the Clifford the Big Red Dog soundtrack, and dates in North America and Europe. Beer's 2022 releases included July's "I Have Never Felt More Alive" from the soundtrack to the film Fall, August's "Dangerous," and October's "Showed Me (How I Fell in Love with You)." She began 2023 by publishing her memoir The Half of It, an exploration of her mental health struggles and experiences in the spotlight. Her next single, "Home to Another One," arrived in June. It was also included on Beer's second album, September 2023's Silence Between Songs, which featured her writing and co-production on all of its tracks. The album peaked at 86 on the Billboard 200 and she followed it in early 2024 with the hit single "Make You Mine." ~ Heather Phares & Marcy Donelson

Basing their name on the strong personalities in their roster, vibrant K-pop quintet (G)I-DLE burst onto the scene in 2018 with a boundary-pushing approach to the genre's usual formula. After releasing the debut EP I Am in May 2018, the group secured a spot in the collaborative digital band K/DA, where they flourished on the international scene with over half-a-billion streams worldwide. From there, it was a rapid climb to the top; finding consistent Top Ten hits and cleaning up at multiple awards ceremonies, (G)I-DLE quickly became one of the scene's brightest prospects. They again reached the upper echelon of the South Korean and Billboard charts with their debut full-length, I Never Die, in 2022. More Top Ten EPs arrived with 2022's I Love and 2023's I Feel and Heat.

Originally comprised of Soyeon, Minnie, Miyeon, Yuqi, Soojin, and Shuhua, the group was formed in early 2018 by Cube Entertainment. After building the career foundations of rapper/singer Soyeon, Cube used her as the foundation of a new girl group: originally named Idle (based on Soyeon's "Idle Song"), the organization quickly settled on (G)I-DLE, a plural, female form of "I." The name reflected the individuality of the group's members, a play on both their stereotype-breaking personalities and the significant role each was to play in the group's artistic direction. Revealing their final lineup at a viral busking event in Seoul, (G)I-DLE soon made their musical debut, releasing the EP I Am in May 2018. Incorporating influences from trap to disco, the group's early output was vibrant, brought back to a K-pop center through infectious choruses and a distinct group dynamic. Alongside a debut at number 13 on the South Korean charts, the project found success on chart shows, winning both SBS MTV's The Show and Mnet's M Countdown the month of the EP's release.

(G)I-DLE's big break came from unconventional means: moving from success to success, the group landed a role in K/DA, a collaborative digital band based on the video game League of Legends. With Miyeon and Soyeon providing voices for two of the group's members, their debut single saw unprecedented success abroad. "Pop/Stars" racked up over 500 million streams across platforms worldwide. Having found recognition on the world stage, they made appearances at conventions and performed internationally, closing out 2018 with a plethora of wins at shows including the Golden Disc Awards, Asia Artist Awards, and Melon Music Awards.

With (G)I-DLE continuing to find critical acclaim for the agency of their members, as well as their musical output and extravagant live performances, 2019 marked a period of similar growth for them. Released in late February, their sophomore EP, I Made, featured new directions for the Korean crew. The sultry single "Senorita" tapped into urbano and funk influences, while "Put It Straight" received eerie, horror-inspired production for its "Nightmare Version." This was followed in July by (G)I-DLE's third EP, Latata. Released by Universal, the set marked the group's Japanese-language debut, reworking popular singles "Maze" and "Latata" and featuring two entirely new tracks. (G)I-DLE closed out 2019 with an appearance on the music show Queendom. Despite finishing third, their single "Lion" (featured on the compilation EP Queendom Final Comeback) swiftly became the group's fifth Top Ten hit. The track later landed on their 2020 EP I Trust, packaged alongside the single "Oh My God." The set became their first Korean chart-topper and their highest showing on the U.S. World chart. Capitalizing on the international visibility, they re-recorded "Latata" in English and issued the singles "Dumdi Dumdi" and the Latin-flavored "I'm the Trend" in 2020. The following year saw the release of (G)I-DLE's fourth extended play, I Burn. Months after its release, Soojin parted ways with the group, reducing them to a quintet.

In 2022, the newly minted five-piece released their first long-player, I Never Die. The platinum-certified album peaked at number two in South Korea and number 13 on the U.S. World Albums chart. Later that year, they issued their fifth Korean-language EP, I Love, which included the hit single "Nxde." Another chart-topping Korean-language EP, I Feel, arrived in 2023, featuring the single "Queencard." Later that year, the crew teamed with 88rising for their first all-English effort, the Heat EP, which featured the singles "I Do" and "I Want That." ~ David Crone

R&B-influenced pop singer/songwriter Jaira Burns signed with Interscope Records in 2017 and delivered her debut single, the Cirkut and Billboard-produced "Ugly," later that summer. A native of rural Vandergrift, Pennsylvania, the ambitious young singer discovered her voice at a young age, learning guitar in her teenage years and eventually relocating to Los Angeles, where she honed her songwriting, made connections, and rose through industry showcases until signing with Interscope. Her first track for the label, "High Rollin," arrived that same year. Her debut, Burn Slow, was released in 2018, months before a national tour with Poppy and Kailee Morgue. ~ Timothy Monger

An internationally popular multiplayer online battle arena video game, League of Legends was created in 2009 by Riot Games. Commonly called "League," the game and its myriad offshoots include music videos, comic books, short stories, and the animated series Arcane.

In 2014, Riot's in-house music team created the virtual heavy metal group Pentakill, a League tie-in project that included cameos from Tommy Lee (Mötley Crüe) and Danny Lohner (Nine Inch Nails). The band's 2017 album, Grasp of the Undying, was a streaming hit. K/DA, a virtual K-pop girl group, also League adjacent, was partially created to promote a skin line of the same name. The group went viral with their 2018 debut single, "Pop/Stars," which amassed millions of online views, garnering interest from listeners unfamiliar with its gaming origins. In 2019, Riot unveiled a virtual hip-hop group, True Damage, with the single "Giants." The following year saw K/DA issue its debut EP, All Out, and in 2021 the company released the soundtrack for the League of Legends animated series Arcane. Riot continued to issue incidental music, themes, and remixes under the League of Legends moniker in 2022 and 2023. ~ James Christopher Monger