“Heartsteel,” a new virtual boy group by Riot Games is anticipated by many League of Legends and KPop fans alike. Heartsteel will be the third virtual band to debut under Riot Games featuring Runeterra’s champions. The group will consist of six popular champions, namely Aphelios, Ezreal, K’Sante, Sett, Kayn, and Yone. Their first single, “PARANOIA,” is out for pre-save on Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music, and Deezer. The song will be released on October 23, 2023.
Many EXO fans (called ‘EXO-Ls’) took to Twitter to express their excitement over Baekhyun, who was announced to voice Ezreal. There are even those in the fandom who joked about the singer debuting in a band for the nth time, albeit virtually with Heartsteel. It’s a well-known fact to fans that the “UN Village” singer is a gamer at heart, and that he’s got undeniable skills in both PUBG and League of Legends.
In the S.M. Super Celeb League from January 4, 2017, Baekhyun played Ezreal in botlane for the first round. The way he spaced his character against enemy champions and moved with clear purpose on the map indicates that he has great knowledge of the game and that he’s probably not just a casual player. If anything, fans think that Baekhyun himself is having his fanboy moment after finally being cast as the voice of Ezreal, his reported favorite character in the game.
Baekhyun isn’t the only one people are excited to hear in the new virtual band. The voices of Kayne (Cal Scruby), K’Sante (Tobi Lou), and Sett (ØZI), are also real-life musicians who are making their own debuts with Heartsteel’s first song. It is unclear if Aphelios and Yone will be voiced since there has been no announcement regarding their voice actors, but they also play important roles in the band. Aphelios is the band’s songwriter and instrumentalist, while Yone is reported to be the band’s producer. It is also unknown if the latter two characters will be appearing in the first song in any way.
(featured image: Riot Games)
