“Die For You” is an epic theme song about not only making important plays, but also stepping back from yourself to conquer your fears and win the game at hand. It is the perfect anthem for the 2021 VALORANT Champions Tour.
The song takes place during a stressful retake with Brimstone, Sage and Phoenix all fighting through dangerous obstacles to make it to a planted spike. As the story progresses we see each agent’s fears and weaknesses come to light: Brimstone’s inability to give up leadership, Phoenix’s rash nature, and Sage’s insecurity over what she cannot control. However, they all learn to reflect, letting their players take control to become bigger than themselves as part of a team.
The music video is also meant to reflect clutch situations, and how important they are to VALORANT as a whole. A single clutch can be the difference between winning the game and leaving a tournament. Can a player win those key moments, or will they crack under the pressure? Only by letting go and becoming someone greater than yourself can you change the course of the game.
In terms of production, this song began all the way back in October 2020. “The endgame for us has always been an anthem of some kind,” said Anton Ferraro, Global Communications Lead for Valorant Esports. He compared it to League of Legends, which has amazing songs like “Awaken,” “Warriors” and “Burn it All Down.” However, unlike League, VCT is an esports league in its inaugural year. While there are definitely teams that dominate the conversation (Sentinels, Gambit Esports, etc.), there has yet to be a “Faker” equivalent for the VALORANT scene.
“We were making this without the history or known figures like League has,” Ferraro said. So Riot decided that “Die For You” should represent an aspect of the game, not necessarily any team or player. With that in mind, the developers explored the dynamics of players and agents, and how players overcome adversity to take those clutch moments.
The Line, the animation studio that created League of Legends anthems “Take Over” and “True Damage,” worked on this video, so you may see similarities in style.
Nicholas “Grabbitz” Chiari, the singer featured in this anthem, is well known in the EDM scene. He has worked with Pegboard Nerds, Savoy and Deadmau5 on tracks in the past. He has also collaborated on remixes with big names like One Republic.
“When searching for an artist to collaborate with, our team took a look at artists who were making music that we thought resonated with VALORANT’s style. We found Grabbitz and kicked off a collaborative effort of creating, writing, and producing the anthem,” Ferraro said.
With League of Legends, songs typically had a concert or a ceremony of some sort to debut them. According to Ferraro, there will be a closing ceremony featuring a live performance of “Die for You.” It will be an on-site, outdoor concert. Depending on the COVID-19 regulations at the time, this setup might allow fans to attend the performance in person.
