The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (soundtrack)

Last updated
The Hunger Games:
The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
(Music From & Inspired By)
The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (Music From & Inspired By).png
Soundtrack album by
various artists
ReleasedNovember 17, 2023
Recorded2022–2023
Studio Air Studios, London
Label Geffen
Producer Dave Cobb
The Hunger Games soundtrack chronology
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2
(Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

(2015)
The Hunger Games:
The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
(Music From & Inspired By)

(2023)
The Hunger Games:
The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
(Original Motion Picture Score)

(2023)
Singles from The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
  1. "The Hanging Tree (Lucy Gray's Version)"
    Released: October 20, 2023
  2. "Can't Catch Me Now"
    Released: November 3, 2023

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (Music From & Inspired By) 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.

Contents

The soundtrack featured several pop and country folk songs performed by the cast members, including Zegler. The album was released by Geffen Records on November 17, 2023 and was led by two singles—"The Hanging Tree (Lucy Gray's Version)" and "Can't Catch Me Now".

Background

At CinemaCon on April 26, 2023, director Francis Lawrence had announced that Dave Cobb would produce the soundtrack album that featured the prequel's version of songs from the previous installments. As music plays a more prominent role in the prequel, the creative team was heavily influenced by appalachian, country, and folk music. Late country music singer Loretta Lynn also informed Lucy Gray's sound throughout the filming process, and was also involved in providing creative inputs to the team. Zegler performed all the songs in the film live throughout filming. [1] [2]

Singles

On September 16, 2023, Lucy Gray's version of the song "The Hanging Tree" from the 2014 film The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (originally performed by Jennifer Lawrence) was teased in a promotional video for the film. [3] [4] The full song was released on October 20, as the lead single. [5] [6] On November 1, Olivia Rodrigo announced that she would perform a song "Can't Catch Me Now" for the soundtrack of the film, [7] [8] which would be the first track from the album that was made available for pre-order. [9] [10] The song was released as a single two days later. [11] [12] A music video for the track would be released on November 13. [13]

Reception

David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter said that Cobb's rousing tunes for Lucy Gray's songs "adding fire to the heroine’s rebel spirit". [14] Will Sayre of MovieWeb said that the tunes are "catchy enough and will surely be universally appreciated among fans". [15]

Track listing

The track list of the album was announced on November 1. [16]

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (Music From & Inspired By) track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Artist(s)Length
1."Can't Catch Me Now" Olivia Rodrigo 3:26
2."The Hanging Tree" (Lucy Gray's version) Rachel Zegler 2:24
3."Wool" Cleto Cordero Flatland Cavalry 3:49
4."Nothing You Can Take from Me"
Zegler1:36
5."The Garden"
Sierra Ferrell 3:42
6."The Ballad of Lucy Gray Baird"
  • Cobb
  • Collins
Zegler2:19
7."Bury Me Beneath the Willow"  Molly Tuttle 3:42
8."The Old Therebefore / Singing at Snakes"
2:49
9."Burn Me Once"Bella WhiteBella White3:20
10."District 12 Stomp"
  • Cobb
  • Collins
The Covey Band0:43
11."Nothing You Can Take from Me" (Boot-Stompin' Version)
  • Cobb
  • Collins
  • Zegler
  • Covey Band
3:14
12."Cabin Song" William Apostal Billy Strings 3:27
13."Lucy Gray" (Part 1) William Wordsworth Zegler2:41
14."Pure as the Driven Snow"
  • Cobb
  • Collins
  • Zegler
  • Covey Band
3:53
15."Winter's Come and Gone" Charles Wesley Godwin 2:49
16."Keep on the Sunny Side"
  • Josie Hope Hall
  • Covey Band
2:44
17."Lucy Gray" (Part 2)WordsworthZegler3:19
Total length:49:56

Charts

Chart performance for The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (Music From & Inspired By)
Chart (2023–2024)Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [17] 95
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [18] 45
Canadian Albums ( Billboard ) [19] 45
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [20] 68
French Albums (SNEP) [21] 128
Lithuanian Albums (AGATA) [22] 31
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [23] 22
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [24] 11
UK Compilation Albums (OCC) [25] 10
UK Americana Albums (OCC) [26] 3
UK Soundtrack Albums (OCC) [27] 1
US Billboard 200 [28] 68
US Top Country Albums ( Billboard ) [29] 15
US Soundtrack Albums ( Billboard ) [30] 3

Accolades

Accolades for The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (Music From & Inspired By)
AwardDate of CeremonyCategoryRecipient(s)ResultRef
Hollywood Music in Media Awards November 15, 2023 Original Song — Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film "Can't Catch Me Now"

Written by Dan Nigro and Olivia Rodrigo; performed by Olivia Rodrigo

Won [31]
[32]
[33]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francis Lawrence</span> American music video, film and television director

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suzanne Collins</span> American television writer and author

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<i>The Hunger Games</i> Young adult book series by Suzanne Collins

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coriolanus Snow</span> Character in The Hunger Games

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<i>The Hunger Games</i> (film series) Series of films based on the novel series

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The Hanging Tree (<i>The Hunger Games</i> song) 2014 song composed by James Newton Howard

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The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is a dystopian action-adventure novel written by the American author Suzanne Collins. It is a prequel to the original The Hunger Games trilogy, set 64 years before the events of the first novel. It was released on May 19, 2020, by Scholastic with an audiobook of the novel, read by the American actor Santino Fontana, was released simultaneously. The book had a virtual launch due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A film adaptation by Lionsgate, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, was released on November 17, 2023.

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"Can't Catch Me Now" is a song by American singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo from the soundtrack of The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (2023). Rodrigo wrote the song with its producer, Dan Nigro. Geffen Records released "Can't Catch Me Now" as the soundtrack album's second single on November 3, 2023. The song won the Hollywood Music in Media Award for Best Original Song in a Sci-Fi, Fantasy or Horror Film at the 2023 ceremony.

<i>The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes</i> (score) 2023 film score by James Newton Howard

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is the score album to the 2023 film of the same name based on Suzanne Collins' 2020 novel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. The fifth instalment in the The Hunger Games film series and prequel to the first film, stars Tom Blyth, Rachel Zegler, Peter Dinklage, Hunter Schafer, Josh Andrés Rivera, and Viola Davis. 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.

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