The most recent example is the multi-genre inspired boy band Heartsteel, which will also perform at League Worlds and is the first virtual group Egan has worked on at Riot. Consisting of champions Ezreal, Kayn, K’Sante and Sett and featuring vocals from IRL stars such as Baekhyun (member of EXO and SuperM), the group debuted last month with the single “PARANOIA”, accompanied by an Arcane-style music- Video. “[Heartsteel] was really inspired by fan art,” says Egan, explaining that fans expected the brand’s next band to be a male K-pop group and began reinventing their favorite characters in that world. The team saw (and loved) this art, but decided to take it a step further. “I always use the Beastie Boys analogy from League… we wanted to subvert [expectations] a little bit and create a different style, a different art style, a different style of music and bring in a genre that we’ve never played with before.”
