"Legends Never Die" is a song by American pop rock band Against the Current,designed as the official theme song for the 2017 League of Legends World Championship. The song was written by Sebastian Najand,Alexander Temple,Edouard Brenneisen,and Jason Willey of the Riot Games Music Team,along with Justin Tranter,Alex Seaver,and Kyle Casey Hicks,and produced by the Riot Games Music Team,Seaver and Oliver. It was released on September 15,2017,under the Riot Games label,after being revealed on the League of LegendsYouTube channel the day prior. It is a ballad that has been described as rock and metal. Its lyrics discuss the emotional struggle and grit to become a legend.
The official music video was released on the League of Legends YouTube channel;it is an animation that shows League of Legends champions consistently persisting through setbacks. Alan Walker produced a remix of the song upon its release. The song has been certified Gold in several countries,as well as Silver by the British Phonographic Industry. The song was well-received upon its release and is widely considered one of the best World Championship songs. Chrissy Costanza,the lead singer of Against the Current,has said that its success changed her career.
Background and composition
Before "Legends Never Die",League of Legends had previously collaborated with Imagine Dragons to make "Warriors" for the 2014 World Championship,Nicki Taylor to make "Worlds Collide" for the 2015 World Championship,and Zedd to make "Ignite" for the 2016 World Championship. Continuing the tradition,they collaborated with Against the Current for "Legends Never Die",which served as the official song for the 2017 World Championship. The song was revealed on the League of LegendsYouTube channel on September 14,2017 via an audio,[1][2] and officially released as a single on September 15,2017,the day afterwards,under Riot Games.[3] The single cover art shows the League of Legends characters Ashe and Lee Sin in a "very ambiguous player".[4]
Against the Current performed the song at the Beijing National Stadium to open the 2017 World Championship ceremony;almost 50,000 people attended the performance. The concert included an augmented reality dragon flying in the crowd before taking the stage and growling at the audience. The performance earned Riot Games received a Sports Emmy in Outstanding Live Graphic Design.[5][6]
"Legends Never Die" is a ballad;[7][8] publications have described it as a rock[7] and metal[8] song. It is three minutes and 55 seconds long.[3] According to the sheet music published to Musicnotes.com by Songs by Riot Games Music Publishing,it is in the key of F major with a moderate tempo of 70 beats per minute. Lead singer Chrissy Costanza's vocals range two octaves from F3 to F5 throughout the song.[9] The lyrics are about the emotional struggle and grit to be a legend.[10] For GameRant,Joe Grantham called it an "inspiring epic about never giving up" and singled out the lines "When the world is calling you" and "Can you hear them screaming out your name",concluding that "many players have been inspired by [the lyrics]".[11]
Music video
On October 18,2017,the music video for "Legends Never Die" was released on the League of Legends YouTube channel.[12] For unknown reasons,it cuts short of the entire song.[7] The music video,which is animated,includes Ashe and Lee Sin,along with other League of Legends champions,journeying on survival after consistently struggling.[11] By 2021,the music video had received over 190 million views,making it the third-most-viewed World Championship song after "Warriors" and "Rise",[13] and by February 2022,it had gained over 200 million views.[14] As of July 2025,it has over 297 million views.[15]
Remix and other covers
Later in 2017,Norwegian DJ and producer Alan Walker produced a remix of "Legends Never Die". His production changed the song from "anthemic and exciting" and "bright and bouncy",as described by Kat Bein of Billboard. The remix also has a "tropical" sound according to Bein.[8]
In April 2023,the Dark Side of the Moon covered "Legends Never Die",supported with an original music video,for their debut album Metamorphosis. They released it ahead of the album itself "to shorten the waiting time [of the album]" according to themselves. The band said in promotion of it that "[We] invite you into the gaming world of League of Legends!"[16] In November 2025,N.Flying released a medley cover of "Legends Never Die" and the 2023 World Championship anthem,"Gods" by NewJeans.[17]
Reception
Upon its release,"Legends Never Die" gained a positive response.[4] Aaron Mickunas of Dot Esports said that the song "just plain rocks" and "certainly builds up enough hype for [the 2017 World Championship]".[1] For Polygon,Julia Lee said that the song "truly encompasses how epic Worlds is" and that it is "extremely catchy".[4] Commercially,the song was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America in February 2022,representing over a half-million confirmed units being sold in the United States.[18][5][14] It is also certified Gold in Denmark,[19] Italy,[20] New Zealand,[21] and Spain,[22] whereas the British Phonographic Industry has certified the song Silver,representing over 200,000 sales in the United Kingdom.[23]
Retrospectively,"Legends Never Die" has become one of the highest-regarded World Championship songs.[24] In a 2024 ranking of the World Championship songs,Cecilia Ciocchetti of Dot Esports ranked "Legends Never Die" fourth,praising its "passionate" crescendos and "explosive" chorus.[24] Ranking the song second out of the first six World Championship songs,Victoria Rose wrote for Fanbyte that "[She] was a bit cold to it at first,but [she] absolutely warmed up to it". While she criticized the lyric structure as imperfect and the intro as "kinda a mess",she called it "a substantially cleaner track [than 'Rise' and 'Phoenix']" and "really,incredibly powerful" as an anthem,saying that "That placement of 'screaming' right as the main peak of the chorus is esports ballad writing at its best. Except maybe ['Warriors''] chorus.",concluding by saying that it is "a ridiculously good vibe" and "it's hard to not have [the song] grow on you".[7]Esports.gg administrator Lawrence "Malystryx" Phillips ranked the song as the best World Championship song to date in 2025,saying it has "has everything you'd ever want from a League of Legends Worlds anthem",praising its "dramatic" build-up,"haunting" verses,"powerful" chorus,and lyrics,saying that it was a "unanimous #1" that "never fails to inspire".[10]
In a 2025 ranking,Antonia Haynes ranked "Legends Never Die" third on her ranking of the World Championship anthems,saying that the lyrics "are the kind of cinematic,heroic and inspirational lyrics that a LoL anthem needs for fans,players and pros to truly feel those high stakes".[25]ONE Esports ranked it fourth in their updated 2024 ranking,saying that it is "catchy" and "never left the heart of Summoners". Costanza's vocals were described as "sweet but firm" and provided an "excellent contrasts to [its] solid rhythm";they also praised the buildup to the chorus.[26] For GameRant,Joe Grantham ranked it second,saying that "[t]here are a few songs capable of giving League fans around the world chills" and that "Legends Never Die" is one of them,highlighting its titular line as "hit[ting] harder than any other,especially as it ties into the name of the popular MOBA".[11] Upon Against the Current releasing "Wildfire",another collaboration with League of Legends for their 2022European Championship,NME writer Ali Shutler called "Legends Never Die" an "incredible,stadium-sized anthem".[27]
In a 2025 interview with Ciocchetti on Esports Insider,Costanza,who also took part in the 2019 World Championship theme song "Phoenix",spoke out about "Legends Never Die"'s success,saying that it changed her career. She explained that she was "stunned" by its success and said "I have friends in my life that knew Legends Never Die,but that didn't know anything about League of Legends,that found League of Legends because of the song." Costanza also opened the 2025 World Championship with a medley performance of "Warriors","Phoenix",and "Legends Never Die".[28]
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
Notes
↑Apple Music specifically credits Sebastian Najand, Alexander Temple, Edouard Brenneisen, and Jason Willey as songwriters; all of them are part of the Riot Games Music Team.[29][30]
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