Olivia Rodrigo‘s new song for Lionsgate’s “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes” is titled “Can’t Catch Me Now” and has been revealed as the official song of the film. A short 60-second snippet of the upbeat track was released in a new preview for the film that premiered today.
To align with the movie tickets going on sale Wednesday, the studios took over a billboard in Times Square to make the announcement. In the video preview, Rodrigo’s layered vocals drive an upbeat drum rhythm that gets more and more energized as the beat patterns condense. The reveal was attended by some of the film’s actors including Tom Blyth and Rachel Zegler. Meanwhile, fans could watch from home on a one-hour broadcast live on TikTok.
Rodrigo joins Taylor Swift, Coldplay, and Lorde in providing an original song for the “Hunger Games” series. Francis Lawrence, director of the new film, said: “From the very beginning of this franchise, we have been fortunate to attract some of the world’s most talented recording artists, whose music has accentuated and complemented the drama of the films while underscoring the emotional weight carried by the characters. With her highly charged lyrics and urgent voice, Olivia Rodrigo taps into all of that as much as any artist today. She’s an absolute thrill to work with and we couldn’t be more excited that her music is a part of the movie.”
Recently, the studio released Zegler’s performance of “The Hanging Tree,” the ballad originally performed by Jennifer Lawrence in “The Hunger Games.” The orchestral title, released via Geffen Records, first appeared as the second single from the soundtrack and was originally written by Suzanne Collins and composed by Howard, Jeremiah Fraites and Wesley Schultz from the band the Lumineers.
“The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes” is centered on Coriolanus (Blyth) who is the last hope for his family’s storied lineage, the once-proud Snow family that has fallen from grace in a post-war Capitol. He is assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird (Zegler), a tribute from the impoverished District 12.
The film will be released exclusively in theaters throughout most of the world beginning Nov. 17.
Watch the preview below.