THE BADDEST

"**The Baddest**" (stylized in all caps) is a song by virtual K-pop girl group K/DA. It was released as a single on August 27, 2020, and is the lead single from their debut extended play *All Out*. It is K/DA's first song since "Pop/Stars" in 2018. The song was composed by Riot Music Team in collaboration with Bekuh BOOM. The song was accompanied by a lyric video which was uploaded to League of Legends's official YouTube channel on the same day.

## Background and release

K/DA launched their official Twitter and Instagram account on August 20. Simultaneously, Riot Games revealed the single image of the K/DA logo, including the comeback's date and the titled of their pre-release song with the phrase "YOUTUBE PREMIERE 8.27.2020 12 PM PT #KDA #CALLINGALLBLADES #KDAISBACK #COMEBACK #THEBADDEST". Starting August 24, 2020, K/DA individual images with new appearance and member introduction were released from Ahri the Queen, Evelynn the Diva, Kai’Sa the Dancer to Akali the Rebel. Ahead of its release, League of Legends' Shazam page revealed Wolftyla and Bea Miller would take over the roles of Kai’Sa and Evelynn; original artists Jaira Burns and Madison Beer reprised their roles in later K/DA songs.

## Composition

In terms of musical notation|, "The Baddest" was composed using [[Time signature|Template:Time signature common time]], written in the key of E-flat major with a tempo of 135 beats per minute, and a running time of 2:42 minutes. Musical artists Soyeon and Miyeon of (G)I-dle, Bea Miller, and Wolftyla provide the vocals.

## Critical reception

Mike Stubbs from *Forbes* wrote in his article that he "only listened to it a handful of times and it is already stuck in [his] head!" Shacknews's TJ Denzer was impressed by the music video, saying that "it brings back the pop stylized versions of in-game champions Ahri, Evelynn, Akali, and Kai’Sa in full and fashionable form to deliver The Baddest", and described the song as "a cornucopia of good vocals and visuals set to an entrancing beat". League of Legends European Championship (LEC) caster Daniel Drakos didn't really like the song upon first hearing it on Twitter. Instead, he recommends listening to The Baddest on music streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music for better sound quality. Meanwhile, another LEC caster, Indiana "Froskurinn" Black, was fond of Kai'Sa's lines "I came to slay back and I'm better and ready to stay."

"The Baddest" was included in *Hyperbae'*s Best K-pop Songs and Music Videos of 2020.

## Track listing

* Download and streaming

1. "The Baddest" – 2:42
2. "The Baddest" (inst.) – 2:42

## Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from Melon and Tidal.

* Vocals – Soyeon and Miyeon of (G)I-dle, Bea Miller and Wolftyla
* Riot Music Team – production, composer, songwriting, vocal production, mix engineer, mastering engineer
* Sebastien Najand – composer
* Bekuh Boom – songwriting, additional vocals
* Lydia Paek – Korean translation
* Minji Kim – Korean translation
* Oscar Free – vocal production

## Lyric video

On August 27, a live countdown started at 12 PM PT on League of Legends's official YouTube channel, with nearly 180,000 viewers live on during its premiere. In 10 minutes, the video surpassed 500,000+ views, and reached 4 million views in 8 hours. The video was directed by Riot Games and Jordan Taylor Studios who had previously work for Pitch Perfect 2, Netflix's documentary film *Kingdom of Us* and Joey Badass' "Unorthodox". The next day, Riot Korea released a behind-the-scenes video of (G)I-dle's recording session of the song.

## Accolades

Awards

Year-end lists

## Charts

Template:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chart

 US World Digital Song Sales (*Billboard*) | 1

## External links

* Template:YouTube

1. ↑ League of Legends K-Pop Group K/DA's Will Comeback With The New Single Titled 'The Baddest' (August 21, 2020).
2. ↑ Error on call to Template:cite web: Parameters **url** and **title** must be specifiedPak Min-jae (August 24, 2020). . *Gametalk*.
3. ↑ Template:Cite news
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5. ↑ K/DA "THE BADDEST" Sheet Music. Musicnotes.com.
6. ↑ Key and BPM of THE BADDEST by K/DA, (G)I-DLE, Wolftyla, Bea Miller, League of Legends (en-US).
7. ↑ Template:Cite news
8. ↑ Template:Cite news
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10. ↑ Template:Cite news
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 [싱글 THE BADDEST ((여자)아이들, Wolftyla, Bea Miller, K/DA)] (ko). Kakao Corporation.
12. ↑ THE BADDEST by K/DA, (G)I-DLE, Wolftyla, Bea Miller, League of Legends (en).
13. ↑ Template:Cite news
14. ↑ Template:Cite news
15. ↑ Template:Cite news
16. ↑ Jordan Taylor Studios.
17. ↑ Template:Cite news
18. ↑ Template:Cite video
19. ↑ Grein, Paul (2021-01-28). Diane Warren & James Newton Howard Among Top Winners at 2021 Hollywood Music in Media Awards (en-US).
20. ↑ Chris Willman (January 15, 2021). Hollywood Music in Media Awards Announces 2021 Nominees; Kenny Loggins Set for Lifetime Honor (EXCLUSIVE). Variety.
21. ↑ These Are the Best K-Pop Songs and Music Videos of 2020.
22. ↑ The Baddest (Canadian Digital Songs). *Billboard* (September 12, 2020).
23. ↑ Charts (2020-09-14).
24. ↑ 2020 36-os SAVAITĖS (rugpjūčio 28-rugsėjo 3 d.) SINGLŲ TOP100. (lt). AGATA (September 4, 2020).
25. ↑ Top 20 Most Streamed International & Domestic Singles In Malaysia. *Recording Industry Association of Malaysia*. Recording Industry Association of Malaysia.
26. ↑ The Official New Zealand Music Chart. Recorded Music NZ.
27. ↑ RIAS International Top Charts Week 36. Recording Industry Association (Singapore).
28. ↑ Gaon Weekly Digital Chart - The Baddest (August 30 – September 5, 2020).
29. ↑ Official Singles Downloads Chart Top 100 | Official Charts Company (en).
30. ↑ The Baddest (US Digital Songs). *Billboard* (September 12, 2020).
31. ↑ World Digital Song Sales: September 12, 2020. *Billboard* (September 12, 2020).
32. ↑ THE BADDEST (feat. bea miller & League of Legends) - Single by K/DA, (G)I-DLE & Wolftyla.