If you were a teen in the early 2010s, you definitely know of someone who went through a Hunger Games phase, if you didn’t go through one yourself. With The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes now out, everyone’s Hunger Games phases are back for more.
Since its release on November 3, Olivia Rodrigo’s song “Can’t Catch Me Now” from The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes has been blowing up on TikTok. With the virality of the latest Hunger Games soundtrack, many fans are revisiting the hits that have come from the soundtracks of the previous films. Rodrigo is far from the first pop star to travel to Panem for a song or two. Here’s every major singer who lent their voice to The Hunger Games films over the years.
Olivia Rodrigo
The only big name on The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes soundtrack, Rodrigo’s song was chosen as the end credits song for the prequel film. Most of the other songs on the soundtrack are sung by the film’s star Rachel Zegler.
Taylor Swift
Considering she hasn’t played either song as a surprise song yet on the massive Eras Tour, many forget that the queen of pop sang not one, but two songs for The Hunger Games back in 2012, “Safe & Sound” featuring The Civil Wars and “Eyes Open.”
Lorde
Lorde not only has a song on the soundtrack for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (“Everybody Wants to Rule the World”), but she curated the soundtrack for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1. On the soundtrack, she provided the end credits song “Yellow Flicker Beat,” and lent her vocals to the songs “Ladder Song,” “This is Not a Game,” and “Meltdown.”
Ariana Grande & Major Lazer
The EDM trio Major Lazer needed a talented vocalist for their track “All My Love” on The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 soundtrack, and they found it in Grande. A remix of the song later made an appearance on Lazer’s 2015 album Peace Is The Mission.
Sia, Diplo, and The Weeknd
Sia’s song “Elastic Heart” is no small hit of hers, but many don’t realize the song was originally a collaboration between her, Diplo, and The Weeknd for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. The single that most people know was released a year later as a solo endeavor.
Coldplay
After going 2 years without new music, fans of Coldplay were treated to their appearance on the lead single off The Hunger Games: Catching Fire‘s soundtrack. “Atlas” was used as the end credits song for the film.
Ellie Goulding
The British pop star has the unique achievement of being featured on 3 of Lionsgate’s biggest franchises’ soundtracks, Divergent, Twilight, and The Hunger Games. Goulding lent her voice to “Mirror” on The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. But of course, that’s not her most well-known movie soundtrack song. That honor goes to “Love Me Like You Do” off Fifty Shades of Grey.
Jennifer Lawrence
Maybe it’s cheating adding her to the list, since she is the star of The Hunger Games franchise, but J. Law got her first Billboard Top 100 hit thanks to “The Hanging Tree” off of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1. She also lent her voice to The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 on the only vocal track on the album, “There Are Worse Games to Play/Deep in the Meadow/The Hunger Games Suite.”
Maroon 5
A forgotten track off The Hunger Games soundtrack, Maroon 5 sang “Come Away to the Water” featuring the first artist signed to frontman Adam Levine’s record label, Rozzi Crane.
Kid Cudi
The Hunger Games soundtrack features a lot of country and folk singers, but Cudi was able to bring some R&B to the tracklist with his song “The Ruler and the Killer.”
Arcade Fire
Proving that The Hunger Games soundtrack was the definition of indie rock, Arcade Fire brought their talents to the first track “Abraham’s Daughter.”
The Civil Wars
In addition to teaming up with Taylor Swift for “Safe & Sound,” the folk duo also performed “Kingdom Come” for The Hunger Games.
Miranda Lambert
The country star collaborated with her group Pistol Annies to sing “Run Daddy Run” for The Hunger Games.
Birdy
Birdy’s cover of “Skinny Love” was peak Tumblr, so it’s no surprise she made an appearance on The Hunger Games soundtrack singing “Just a Game.”
The Lumineers
Thought their song might be called “Gale Song,” The Lumineers track on The Hunger Games: Catching Fire focuses solely on Gale (Liam Hemsworth) pining over Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) throughout the films.
Charli XCX
Charli may seem like too poppy of a choice for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, but her collaboration with Duran Duran frontman Simon Le Bon, “Kingdom,” perfectly matches the movie’s tone.
Tove Lo
Bringing her grunge pop sound to Panem, Tove Lo performed “Scream My Name” on The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1.
Of Monsters and Men
Solidifying The Hunger Games: Catching Fire‘s sound leaning towards alt-rock, Of Monsters and Men wrote and performed “Silhouettes” for the film.
Imagine Dragons
As they were blowing up radio stations across the U.S. with “Radioactive,” Imagine Dragons was bringing their alt-rock sound to “Who We Are” on The Hunger Games: Catching Fire soundtrack.
Christina Aguilera
Written by two members of OneRepublic and Mikky Ekko, “We Remain” by Aguilera gave The Hunger Games: Catching Fire soundtrack the power ballad it needed.
The Weeknd
Similar to The Civil Wars on The Hunger Games, The Weeknd wrote and performed his own track, “Devil May Cry,” for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, in addition to his collab with Sia & Diplo.
