Can't Catch Me Now

, portrayed by Rachel Zegler (pictured in 2023).|alt=Rachel Zegler in a black dress Dan Nigro – the sole producer of Olivia Rodrigo's debut studio album, Sour (2021) – returned as her principal collaborator on the follow-up album, Guts (2023). It included some indie folk songs, with lyrical themes like heartbreak, body image, and social and adolescent anxieties. The album was released to critical acclaim in September2023. 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". 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". 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. On November 1, 2023, Rodrigo's hotline began playing a short clip of "Can't Catch Me Now" on repeat. 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. 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. Geffen Records made "Can't Catch Me Now" available for pre-order as the opening track on the film's accompanying 2023 soundtrack album, from which it served as the second single. The song was also released on the 7-inch vinyl format on November 3. ==Composition and lyrics==

"Can't Catch Me Now" is 3 minutes and 25 seconds long. Nigro produced and mixed the song, and he engineered it with Dylan Waterhouse. Nigro played guitar, keyboards, bass, and Mellotron; Paul Cartwright conducted the string arrangement and played viola and violin; and Chappell Roan provided the background vocals. Randy Merrill mastered the song. She harmonizes with herself on it, which Stereogums Chris DeVille described as "piercing". and the intensity escalates when Rodrigo belts the titular line over orchestral instrumentation: "You can't, you can't catch me now." They are about vengeance and the narrator's inescapable presence in the subject's life. In the chorus, they taunt the subject that, despite being everywhere, the latter would not be able to capture them: "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." Rodrigo then sings "Coming like a storm into your town", which Steffanee Wang of Nylon interpreted as a reference to Lucy Gray Baird. 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." == Critical reception ==

Music critics were positive about "Can't Catch Me Now" and believed its folk-influenced production suited Rodrigo. Alex Hopper of American Songwriter believed it was alluring, shocking, and "one of her most interesting songs to date". Critics believed "Can't Catch Me Now" resembled the ballads on her own albums, and Billboards Jason Lipshutz opined it formed an earnest addition to the soundtrack and her discography. Some reviewers, like Anderso, Vito, and The New Zealand Heralds Alana Rae, praised Rodrigo's vocal performance. Liberty Dunworth of NME called her voice "haunting", and Wang believed it "soars into the treetops". Ledonne, Anderson, and Vito thought the melodies were luxurious, Accolades "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, and in 2024, the Gold List award for Best Original Song and the Society of Composers and Lyricists Award for Outstanding Original Song for a Dramatic or Documentary Visual Media Production. It received nominations for Best Original Song at the 2023 North Carolina Film Critics Association and the 2024 Gold Derby Film Awards, as well as the 2024 Guild of Music Supervisors Award for Best Song Written and/or Recording Created for a Film and Best Song Written for Visual Media at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards. "Can't Catch Me Now" was shortlisted for Best Original Song at the 96th Academy Awards, but it was not nominated. == Commercial performance ==

"Can't Catch Me Now" debuted at number 56 on the US Billboard Hot 100 issued for November 18, 2023. 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. The song entered at number 15 in New Zealand and received a platinum certification from Recorded Music NZ. It peaked at number 43 on the Billboard Global 200. "Can't Catch Me Now" also reached the top 50 at number 5 in Ireland, number 25 in Lithuania, number 37 in Norway, number 44 in the Czech Republic, number 45 in the Netherlands, and number 50 in Slovakia. The song received gold certifications in Belgium, Brazil, France, and Poland. ==Music video==

Leonn Ward directed the music video for "Can't Catch Me Now", which was released on November 13, 2023. The cinematic video intersperses clips of Rodrigo with scenes from The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes. 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. After strolling through the cabin, Rodrigo leaves it and runs through a field of grass in a white 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." Scenes depicting Blyth and Zegler portraying their characters play out simultaneously. In the final scene, sunlight falls upon Rodrigo. == Live performances and other usage ==

in May 2024|alt=Olivia Rodrigo playing guitar in a fishnet outfit Rodrigo performed "Can't Catch Me Now" live for the first time at the KIIS-FM Jingle Ball on December 1, 2023. USA Todays 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. Ten days later, Rodrigo reprised the song on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. 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. Gil Kaufman of Billboard believed the theater was filled with electrifying pop energy. Miami New Timess Celia Almeida considered it a highlight of the show. 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. She was supported by a vocalist providing harmonies and a team of instrumentalists. Writing for Billboard, Rania Aniftos described it as "flawlessly delivered". ==Credits and personnel==

Credits are adapted from Qobuz. • Dan Nigro – producer, songwriter, mixing, engineer, guitar, keyboards, bass, Mellotron • Olivia Rodrigo – songwriter • Paul Cartwright – string arrangement, viola, violin • Dylan Waterhouse – engineer • Chappell Roan – background vocals • Randy Merrill – mastering ==Charts==

Weekly charts Year-end charts ==Certifications==