Updated on September 23, 10:51 a.m. (GMT+8): Added the new Worlds 2022 theme song, “STAR WALKIN'”.
There’s nothing like a good theme song to get you hyped up. You know it, and obviously, Riot knows it because every year for League of Legends Worlds they collaborate with a different artist and somehow always manage to put out an absolute banger.
But which Worlds theme song was the best? With nine to choose from, here’s how we ranked every Worlds songs from worst to best.
9. Burn It All Down by PVRIS (2021)8. Worlds Worlds Collide by Nicki Taylor (2015)7. STAR WALKIN’ by Lil Nas X (2022)6. Ignite by Zedd and Tim James (2016)5. Take Over by A Day to Remember’s Jeremy McKinnon, MAX, Henry (2020)4. Phoenix by Cailin Russo and Chrissy Costanza (2019)3. Legends Never Die by Against the Current (2017)2. Rise by The Glitch Mob, Mako, and The Word Alive (2018)1. Warriors by Imagine Dragons (2014)
While its music video boasts top-tier art and animation co-created by Riot Games and Haoliners Animation League, the Worlds 2021 theme song “Burn It All Down” feels a bit lackluster.
The song’s beat and melody sounds like something that we’ve already heard from previous World championships. Simply put, “Burn It Down” is the love child of other Worlds theme songs “Legends Never Die” and “Phoenix”.
Taylor’s Worlds Collide might be in last place on this list, but it’s still a great song. The problem is, it had to follow Imagine Dragons’ Warriors, which, let’s face it, was going to be a monumental task for anyone.
Worlds Collide starts off slow but gets more intense as it reaches the chorus line “We are the ones.” Oddly enough, this is also the only Worlds theme song without an animated music video which might also attribute to its underrated status.
“Why worship legends when you know that you can join ’em?”
From “Montero” to “Old Town Road”, American singer Lil Nas X never disappoints. His new song, “STAR WALKIN'”, is quite the banger, written and produced by the pop star himself.
The music video stars pro players Jo “CoreJJ” Yong-in, Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon, Tian “Meiko” Ye, and Marek “Humanoid” Brázda around iconic landmarks in San Francisco, California, the destination city for the World Final.
Taking a page out of a Japanese mecha tokusatsu (special effects) series, each of the players’ signature champion transforms into a gigantic robot that breaks out into an epic fight scene.
STAR WALKIN’ is everything a pop song should be — upbeat, catchy, and gets you going. The song is refreshingly different from the previous Worlds anthems, especially with its slow, piano ending that would definitely make you feel some type of way.
Ignite is probably your favorite Worlds theme song if you’re an EDM fan. American musical genius Zedd was the artist behind the abrupt beat drops, partnered with the voice of singer-songwriter Tim James.
The official animated music video will also give fans chills as it features iconic Worlds moments from the first half of the decade such as Paul “soaZ” Boyer’s Rumble backdoor during season 4 and Taipei Assassins’ epic win during season 2.
Admittedly, the Worlds theme song entitled “Take Over” isn’t as strong as the previous ones upon first listen. It feels a bit like Riot wanted to follow its earlier Worlds song Rise.
However, we suspect Take Over will be one of those songs that grow on you the more you hear it, and the next thing you know you’ll have Last Song Syndrome (LSS) over it.
We also love the Mandarin Chinese rap section, performed by Mandopop singer Henry Lau.
This Worlds theme song is pretty different from most Worlds songs. Phoenix features the angelic voices of Cailin Russo and Against the Current’s vocalist Chrissy Costanza.
Phoenix may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but you can’t deny it’s extremely catchy.
Coincidentally, the grand winner of Worlds 2019 was the LPL team FunPlus Phoenix. The song’s chorus “Fly, fly, Phoenix, fly” seems to have been composed especially for their victory!
Speaking of catchy songs, this Worlds theme song by rock band Against the Current is truly a legend and has never left the hearts of Summoners.
Costanza’s sweet but firm voice is an excellent contrast to Legends Never Die’s solid rhythm. We totally love the buildup to the chorus!
What do you get when you put a metalcore band, an electronic music group, and a DJ all in the same room? An absolute banger, that’s what!
Listening to Rise simply just makes everyone want to play an awesome round of League of Legends and have a good time. It’s a motivational song that poses the ultimate question — can you rise to the challenge?
Even after eight years, admit it you keep coming back to this classic. Warriors was the first song dedicated to the prestigious Worlds event, and it remains the best one. Warriors has powerful lyrics and an incredible music video. It also helps that Warriors is sung by Imagine Dragons, who are huge League of Legends fans themselves.
“It’s part of our life, it’s part of our story,” said lead singer Dan Reynolds. “Our fans just wanna know our story, and so to create a song and to do it with something that we love, it’s cool to us, it’s cool to our fans, we’ve been really happy.”
Bonus: We also love this spine-tingling rendition of Warriors that Riot Games did with 2WEI and Edda Hayes.
