Can't Catch Me Now

A folk rock and chamber-folk ballad driven by acoustic guitars, the song has lyrics about vengeance and the narrator's inescapable presence in the subject's life, inspired by the film's plot.

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 the song in a cabin and a grass field.

[9][10] 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.

[9][11] 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".

[12][13] 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.

[15] 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.

[16][17] 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.

[18][19][20] Geffen Records made "Can't Catch Me Now" available for pre-order as the opening track on the film's accompanying 2023 soundtrack album,[21][22][23] from which it served as the second single.

"[28][a] The song ramps up and reaches an intense climax, after which Rodrigo sings the final line with "an open, unresolved cadence", according to Consequence's Carys Anderson and Jo Vito.

[27][30] The lyrics of "Can't Catch Me Now" are written from Lucy Gray Baird's perspective, inspired by the plot of The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes.

"[34][35] Rodrigo then sings "Coming like a storm into your town",[a] which Steffanee Wang of Nylon interpreted as a reference to Lucy Gray Baird.

[9][37][38] Vanity Fair's Rob Ledonne described the song as emotional and compelling, noting that it showcased her talent in folk music and marked "one more step towards Rodrigo's world domination".

[38] 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.

[53] "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.

[54][55] In Australia, "Can't Catch Me Now" charted at number 23 and was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for selling 70,000 equivalent units.

[70][71][72] 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.

[75][76] Clad in a white slip dress, she initially sat on a stool amidst bare trees and a fog-covered set before standing to deliver the chorus with a backing band of four musicians and singers in the shadows.

Rachel Zegler in a black dress
"Can't Catch Me Now" is written from the perspective of Lucy Gray Baird , portrayed by Rachel Zegler ( pictured in 2023 ).
Olivia Rodrigo playing guitar in a fishnet outfit
Rodrigo performing on the Guts World Tour in May 2024