"Can't Catch Me Now" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | ||||
Single by Olivia Rodrigo | ||||
from the album The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes | ||||
Released | November 3, 2023 | |||
Genre | Folk rock | |||
Length | 3:25 | |||
Label | Geffen | |||
Songwriter(s) |
| |||
Producer(s) | Dan Nigro | |||
Olivia Rodrigo singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
The Hunger Games singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Music video | ||||
"Can't Catch Me Now" on YouTube |
"Can't Catch Me Now" is a song by American singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo from the soundtrack to the 2023 American dystopian action film The Hunger Games:The Ballad of Songbirds &Snakes . Rodrigo wrote it with its producer,Dan Nigro. Geffen Records released it as the soundtrack's second single on November 3,2023. A folk rock ballad driven by acoustic guitars,"Can't Catch Me Now" has lyrics about vengeance and the narrator's ubiquitousness in the subject's life,inspired by the film's plot.
Music critics praised Rodrigo's ability to make folk-influenced music and her vocal performance on "Can't Catch Me Now",comparing its sound to the ballads on her own albums. The song received awards and nominations,including winning a Hollywood Music in Media Award and a Gold List award. It was shortlisted for Best Original Song at the 96th Academy Awards but was not nominated. In the United States,"Can't Catch Me Now" debuted at number 56 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song reached the top 30 in Australia,Ireland,Lithuania,New Zealand,and the United Kingdom.
Leonn Ward directed the music video for "Can't Catch Me Now",which intersperses scenes from The Hunger Games:The Ballad of Songbirds &Snakes with clips of Rodrigo singing it in a cabin and a grass field. She performed the song at the KIIS-FM Jingle Ball and on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert . Rodrigo included it on the set list for some dates of her 2024 concert tour,the Guts World Tour.
For her debut studio album, Sour (2021),Olivia Rodrigo drew inspiration from several genres,including pop,folk,and alternative rock. [1] Its sole producer,Dan Nigro, [2] [3] returned as her principal collaborator on the follow-up album, Guts (2023). [4] [5] It included some indie folk songs,with lyrical themes like heartbreak,body image,and social and adolescent anxieties. [4] The album was released to critical acclaim in September 2023. [6] [7] The songs on the albums were autobiographical,with Rodrigo approaching the songwriting process like writing a diary entry. [8] [9]
In 2022,Rodrigo was approached to preview the American dystopian action film The Hunger Games:The Ballad of Songbirds &Snakes and potentially write music inspired by it. A fan of the books and the soundtracks from the franchise,she considered it "such an honor". [8] [10] Rodrigo was stimulated by one of the final scenes in the movie,an aerial view of birds weaving in and out among trees,which she kept thinking about repeatedly and believed was the "climax". [11] [12] She felt a connection to the character Lucy Gray Baird,portrayed by Rachel Zegler;Rodrigo and Nigro wrote the song "Can't Catch Me Now" from her perspective,with the intention of capturing the scene. [10] [11] Rodrigo enjoyed the challenge of writing from a movie character's point of view,describing it as "sort of acting" and "character work",but she also believed parts of the song were about herself:"I think I injected parts of myself into it too. I saw bits of myself in her;I admired her resilience,so I tried to embody all that and put it into the song." [8] [9] Nigro nudged her to experiment with new musical styles on it as well. [13]
On November 1,2023,Rodrigo's hotline began playing a clip of "Can't Catch Me Now" on repeat. [14] The same day,Lionsgate announced that the track would serve as the official song for the film,at a promotional event in Times Square which was attended by its actors Zegler,Tom Blyth,and Josh Andrés Rivera. [15] [16] Alongside a 60-second trailer of The Hunger Games:The Ballad of Songbirds &Snakes,which featured the song,Rodrigo revealed it would be released two days later and expressed her excitement about the opportunity to write for the film. [17] [18] [19] Geffen Records made "Can't Catch Me Now" available for pre-order and included it as the opening track on the film's accompanying 2023 soundtrack album. [20] [21] [22] The song was also released as a 7-inch vinyl single. [23]
"Can't Catch Me Now" is three minutes and 25 seconds long. Dan Nigro produced and mixed the song, and he engineered it with Dylan Waterhouse. He plays guitar, keyboards, bass, mellotron; Paul Cartwright conducted the string arrangement and plays viola and violin; and Chappell Roan provides the background vocals. Randy Merrill mastered it. [24]
"Can't Catch Me Now" is a folk rock ballad, [25] [26] driven by acoustic guitar instrumentation. [27] The song opens with that instrument as the sole accompaniment to Rodrigo's voice and subsequently includes strings. [28] She harmonizes with herself on it, which Stereogum 's Chris DeVille described as "piercing". [25] "Can't Catch Me Now" employs a melody which gradually rises to a slow crescendo, [29] and the intensity escalates when Rodrigo belts the titular lyric over orchestral instrumentation: "You can't, you can't catch me now." [28] Her voice ascends while singing the lyric "Coming like a storm into your town." [26] The song ramps up and reaches an intense climax, after which Rodrigo sings the final lyric with "an open, unresolved cadence" according to Consequence 's Carys Anderson and Jo Vito. [25] [28]
The lyrics of "Can't Catch Me Now" are written from Lucy Gray's perspective, inspired by the plot of The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes. [11] [30] They are about vengeance and the narrator's ubiquitousness in the subject's life. [29] [31] [32] The first verse describes scenes like snowfall and mountains, as the narrator wonders that the subject probably expected them to become less furious over time. [33] In the chorus, they taunt the subject that, despite being everywhere, they would not be captured by the latter: "But I'm in the trees, I'm in the breeze / My footsteps on the ground / You'll see my face in every place / But you can't catch me now." [31] [32] Rodrigo then sings the lyric "Coming like a storm into your town", which Steffanee Wang of Nylon interpreted as a reference to Lucy Gray. [26] During the song's conclusion, Rodrigo alludes to the film again: "Yeah, sometimes the fire you founded / Don't burn the way you'd expect / Yeah, you thought that this was the end." [28]
Critics were positive about "Can't Catch Me Now" and believed its folk-influenced production suited Rodrigo. [34] [8] [35] Vanity Fair 's Rob Ledonne described the song as emotional and compelling, and he thought it proved that folk music could also showcase her talent and marked "one more step towards Rodrigo's world domination". [8] Alex Hopper of American Songwriter believed it was alluring, shocking, and "one of her most interesting songs to date". Though he thought "Can't Catch Me Now" represented a change in Rodrigo's sound, it also felt natural to her and Nigro. [35]
Critics believed "Can't Catch Me Now" resembled the ballads on her own albums, and Billboard 's Jason Lipshutz opined it formed an earnest addition to the soundtrack and her discography. [25] [36] Some reviewers, like Anderso, Vito, and The New Zealand Herald 's Alana Rae, praised Rodrigo's vocal performance. [28] [37] Liberty Dunworth of NME called her voice "haunting", and Wang believed it "soars into the treetops". [26] [38] Ledonne, Anderson, and Vito thought the melodies were luxurious, [28] [8] and some others described the acoustic instrumentation as intense. [25] [27]
"Can't Catch Me Now" received awards and nominations. The song won the 2023 Hollywood Music in Media Award for Best Original Song in a Sci-Fi, Fantasy or Horror Film, [39] and in 2024, the Gold List award for Best Original Song [40] and the Society of Composers and Lyricists Award for Outstanding Original Song for a Dramatic or Documentary Visual Media Production. [41] It received nominations for Best Original Song at the 2023 North Carolina Film Critics Association [42] and the 2024 Gold Derby Film Awards, [43] as well as the 2024 Guild of Music Supervisors Award for Best Song Written and/or Recording Created for a Film. [44] "Can't Catch Me Now" was shortlisted for Best Original Song at the 96th Academy Awards but was not nominated. [45]
"Can't Catch Me Now" debuted at number 56 on the US Billboard Hot 100 issued for November 18, 2023. [46] In Canada, the song peaked at number 42 on the Canadian Hot 100 issued for December 2, 2023, and was certified platinum by Music Canada. [47] [48] It reached number 12 on the UK Singles Chart. [49] "Can't Catch Me Now" received a silver certification in the United Kingdom from the British Phonographic Industry, and the Official Charts Company declared it her 16th-biggest song in the country in February 2024. [50] [51]
In Australia, "Can't Catch Me Now" charted at number 23 and was certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association. [52] [53] The song entered at number 15 in New Zealand. [54] It peaked at number 43 on the Billboard Global 200. [55] Elsewhere, "Can't Catch Me Now" reached the top 50 at number 5 in Ireland, [56] number 25 in Lithuania, [57] number 37 in Norway, [58] number 44 in the Czech Republic, [59] number 45 in the Netherlands, [60] and number 50 in Slovakia. [61] The song received a gold certification in Brazil and Poland. [62] [63]
Leonn Ward directed the music video for "Can't Catch Me Now", which was released on November 13, 2023. [64] [31] The cinematic video intersperses clips of Rodrigo with scenes from The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes. [34] [32] It begins with a camera tracking shot being guided inside an isolated cabin, where she performs the song on a guitar while perched on a bed. [32] [65] After strolling through the cabin, Rodrigo leaves it and runs through a field of grass in a white sleek dress during the bridge. She also sings the chorus during this sequence: "You'll see my face in every place / But you can't catch me now." [31] [34] Scenes depicting Blyth and Zegler portraying their characters play out simultaneously. In the final scene, sunlight falls upon Rodrigo. [34] [65]
Rodrigo performed "Can't Catch Me Now" live for the first time at the KIIS-FM Jingle Ball on December 1, 2023. [66] [67] [68] USA Today 's KiMi Robinson remarked that even though the song was only a month old at the time, the fans sang along as if it had been out for much longer, and iHeartRadio's Sarah Tate thought it "continued to build energy and defiance" during her set. [69] [70] 10 days later, Rodrigo reprised it on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert . [71] [72] Clad in a white slip dress, she initially sat on a stool amidst bare trees and a fog-covered set before standing up and delivering the chorus with a backing band of four musicians and singers. Gil Kaufman of Billboard believed the theater was filled with electrifying pop energy. [73] [74] Rodrigo included it on the set list for some dates of her 2024 concert tour, the Guts World Tour. [75] [76] Miami New Times 's Celia Almeida considered it a highlight of the show. [77]
Kelly Clarkson covered "Can't Catch Me Now" on The Kelly Clarkson Show on April 25, 2024, in an olive green cargo dress with her hair styled in soft waves. Writing for Billboard, Rania Aniftos described it as "flawlessly delivered". [78] [79]
Credits are adapted from Qobuz. [24]
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA) [53] | Gold | 35,000‡ |
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil) [62] | Gold | 20,000‡ |
Canada (Music Canada) [48] | Platinum | 80,000‡ |
Poland (ZPAV) [63] | Gold | 25,000‡ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [50] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
Region | Date | Format(s) | Label | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
Various | November 3, 2023 | Geffen | [24] | |
Spain | 7-inch | Universal | [23] | |
Netherlands | November 10, 2023 | [90] | ||
United States | November 25, 2023 | Geffen | [91] | |
United Kingdom | December 22, 2023 | Polydor | [92] |
The Hunger Games is a media franchise centering on a series of science fiction dystopian adventure films, based on the novel series of the same name by Suzanne Collins. The films are distributed by Lionsgate. The series feature an ensemble cast including Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen, Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark, Liam Hemsworth as Gale Hawthorne, Woody Harrelson as Haymitch Abernathy, Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket, Stanley Tucci as Caesar Flickerman, and Donald Sutherland as President Snow. In the prequel film, Tom Blyth stars as Coriolanus Snow, Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird, Josh Andrés Rivera as Sejanus Plinth, Hunter Schafer as Tigris Snow, Peter Dinklage as Casca Highbottom, Viola Davis as Dr. Volumnia Gaul and Jason Schwartzman as Lucretius "Lucky" Flickerman.
Daniel Leonard Nigro is an American musician, songwriter, instrumentalist, and record producer. He was the lead singer and guitarist of the indie rock band As Tall as Lions. Nigro has produced, written, and co-written songs for Sky Ferreira, Kylie Minogue, Caroline Polachek, Olivia Rodrigo, Chappell Roan, and Conan Gray. He won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album for producing Sour in 2021. He was named as the Songwriter of the Year at the 2024 ASCAP Pop Music Awards.
"The Hanging Tree" is a song by American composer James Newton Howard featuring vocals from American actress Jennifer Lawrence. It was written by Suzanne Collins and composed by Howard, Jeremiah Fraites and Wesley Schultz from the band the Lumineers. The song was released by Republic Records on December 9, 2014, as the second single from the soundtrack for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (2014). It was first included in the film's score album but was later added to the digital extended edition of the film's soundtrack. "The Hanging Tree" is a folk ballad that features orchestral strings and a choir.
Olivia Isabel Rodrigo is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She first became known for starring on the Disney Channel series Bizaardvark (2016–2019) and the Disney+ series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (2019–2022). She signed with Geffen Records in 2021, releasing the chart-topping single "Drivers License", which raised her to international prominence. Her debut studio album Sour was released that same year, which won her three Grammy Awards. The documentary Olivia Rodrigo: Driving Home 2 U followed in 2022, which chronicles the creative process of Sour. The next year, she released her second studio album, Guts.
American singer and actress Olivia Rodrigo has released two studio albums, one reissue, three extended plays (EPs), ten singles, and ten music videos. She contributed to the soundtrack of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, releasing ten promotional singles from it, with "All I Want" managing to chart worldwide at a peak position of 119. After signing with Interscope and Geffen Records in 2020, she released her debut single "Drivers License" in January 2021, which propelled her to international fame. "Drivers License" debuted at number one in the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, where it stayed for eight consecutive weeks, and topped the charts in 25 other countries. Subsequently, "Drivers License" was certified six times platinum in the US by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), eight times platinum in Canada by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA), seven times platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), three times platinum in Norway and Portugal, two times platinum in United Kingdom, Poland, New Zealand and Sweden, and platinum in 10 other countries.
Sour is the debut studio album by the American singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo. It was released on May 21, 2021, by Geffen Records. The album was written by Rodrigo and producer Dan Nigro. Originally planned as an EP, Sour was expanded into a full-length album following the viral success of her debut single, "Drivers License".
"Happier" is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo, seen as the eighth track on Rodrigo's debut studio album Sour (2021), which was released on May 21, 2021, through Geffen Records. The song was produced by Dan Nigro. According to Rodrigo, this song was inspired by the song ''Perfect'' by Ed Sheeran in both the lyrics and the instrumental track.
"Traitor" is a song by American singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo. It was released to US mainstream radio on August 10, 2021, through Geffen Records, as the fourth single from Rodrigo's debut album, Sour (2021). An indie pop and guitar-rock ballad, the song was written by Rodrigo and Dan Nigro, and produced by the latter.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is a 2023 American dystopian action film directed by Francis Lawrence from a screenplay by Michael Lesslie and Michael Arndt, based on the 2020 novel of the same name by Suzanne Collins. It is the fifth installment in The Hunger Games franchise and is a prequel to The Hunger Games (2012). The film stars Tom Blyth, Rachel Zegler, Peter Dinklage, Jason Schwartzman, Hunter Schafer, Josh Andrés Rivera, and Viola Davis. In the film, Coriolanus Snow (Blyth) is called on to mentor Lucy Gray Baird (Zegler), a Games tribute, as he seeks to restore his family's prosperity in Panem.
Kayleigh Rose Amstutz, known professionally as Chappell Roan, is an American singer and songwriter. Working with collaborator Dan Nigro, the majority of her music is inspired by 1980s synth-pop and early 2000s pop hits. Her aesthetic is heavily influenced by drag queens, and her music and performing style have been described as "campy".
"Vampire" is a song by American singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo. Geffen Records released it on June 30, 2023, as the lead single from her second studio album, Guts (2023). Rodrigo co-wrote the song with its producer Dan Nigro. A pop rock tune, "Vampire" is driven by piano and rock instrumentation consisting of electric guitars, synthesizers, and programmed drums. An accompanying music video for the song directed by Petra Collins was released simultaneously.
Guts is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo, released on September 8, 2023, through Geffen Records. It was written and recorded with Rodrigo working closely alongside Dan Nigro, the producer and multi-instrumentalist of her debut album Sour (2021). Inspired by the period of time immediately following Sour's success, Rodrigo conceived Guts hoping to reflect the process of maturity she experienced toward the end of her teenage years.
"Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl" is a song by American singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo for her second studio album, Guts (2023). Rodrigo wrote it with Dan Nigro, who produced it.
"Lacy" is a song by American singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo from her second studio album, Guts (2023). Rodrigo wrote it with its producer, Dan Nigro. The song became available as the album's fourth track on September 8, 2023, when it was released by Geffen Records. A folk-pop and indie folk song with influences of theatrical folk, "Lacy" originated from a poem she wrote for a class assignment. The song chronicles Rodrigo's obsession over the beauty of a female figure whom she addresses by the same name and her resulting envy and self-hatred.
"Get Him Back!" is a song by American singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo from her second studio album, Guts (2023). Rodrigo wrote it with its producer, Dan Nigro. EMI Records released it as the album's third single on September 15, 2023. A rap rock and pop-punk song with influences of pop rock, "Get Him Back!" explores Rodrigo's desire to exact revenge from her ex-partner while simultaneously wanting to reconcile with him, with the titular phrase conveying a double meaning.
"The Grudge" is a song by American singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo. It is the tenth track on her second studio album, Guts (2023), which was released on September 8, 2023, by Geffen Records. Rodrigo wrote it with its producer, Dan Nigro. A piano ballad, "The Grudge" details how Rodrigo's relationship with a person went south after sharing an unpleasant phone call.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is the soundtrack album to the 2023 film of the same name, based on Suzanne Collins's 2020 novel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. The fifth installment in the The Hunger Games film series and prequel to the first film, it stars Tom Blyth, Rachel Zegler, Peter Dinklage, Hunter Schafer, Jason Schwartzman, Josh Andrés Rivera, and Viola Davis.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is the score album to the 2023 film The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes. James Newton Howard composed the film's score, whose album consisted of 40 tracks and featured pianist Yuja Wang in three of them. The soundtrack was released by Sony Masterworks on November 17, 2023.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link){{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link){{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link)