Olivia Rodrigo Teases Haunting ‘Can’t Catch Me Now’ for ‘Hunger Games’ Prequel

From the singer who brought us “Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl” comes “Can’t Catch Me Now” — a new song written and recorded by Olivia Rodrigo for the forthcoming Hunger Games prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes.

The three-time Grammy Award winner shared a snippet of the new track, which is being billed as the film’s official song, on Instagram Wednesday evening. Along with posting the single’s release date, Nov. 3, Rodrigo captioned the post: “soooo beyond excited that I got the opportunity to write a song for The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes.” A clip of scenes from the film was also included, capturing the budding (and doomed) romance between Lucy Gray Baird and Coriolanus Snow.

The track’s reveal coincided with tickets going on sale today for the prequel, which arrives Nov. 17. Top artists including Taylor Swift, Coldplay, and Lorde have provided original songs crafted specifically for the Hunger Games franchise in the past.

Lionsgate also rolled out the news during a takeover of Times Square in New York City on Wednesday, with stars Rachel Zegler, Tom Blyth, and Josh Andrés Rivera there to promote the dystopian romance drama. The takeover also featured a choir performance of “The Hanging Tree,” a ballad from composer James Newton Howard. The song was previously performed by Jennifer Lawrence in 2014, ahead of the premiere of The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, and Zegler unveiled a new take on the fan favorite last month.

The prequel will depict the origin of “The Hanging Tree,” which is first sung by Zegler’s character and then passed down for generations to come until Lawrence’s Katniss Everdeen sings it in Mockingjay – Part 1.

From Rolling Stone US.