Entertainment

Lorde's 'Hunger Games' Soundtrack Is On Point

by Alyse Whitney

After what feels like an eternity of waiting, the Lorde-curated Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1 soundtrack track listing is here. Though we've already heard her rebellion anthem "Yellow Flicker Beat," there's much more where that came from, including her covering Bright Eyes' "Ladder Song," a Kanye West remix, and Charli XCX. Check out the full track listing below:

1. Stromae — "Meltdown" [ft. Lorde, Pusha T, Q-Tip, Haim]2. Chvrches — "Dead Air"3. Tove Lo — "Scream My Name"4. Charli XCX — "Kingdom" [ft. Simon Le Bon]5. Various Artists — "Track 5"6. Raury — "Lost Souls"7. Lorde — "Yellow Flicker Beat"8. Tinashé — "The Leap"9. Bat for Lashes — "Plan the Escape"10. Grace Jones — "Original Beast"11. Lorde — "Flicker (Kanye West Rework)"12. XOV — "Animal"13. The Chemical Brothers — "This Is Not a Game" [ft. Miguel]14. Lorde — "Ladder Song"

This is the first time that an artist has curated the Hunger Games soundtrack, and the selection of musicians is a lot less mainstream than the previous two. I love seeing Charli XCX on another soundtrack as much as anyone — and this is better than crying over The Fault in Our Stars — but sadly, to many people, Kanye is the most recognizable name on this list. Here are the biggest takeaways I got from comparing the three soundtracks.

The artists aren't as well-known on this one

On the original Hunger Games soundtrack, there were many recognizable artists. Taylor Swift had "Eyes Open" and "Safe & Sound" featuring The Civil Wars, Maroon 5 contributed "Come Away to the Water," Arcade Fire had "Abraham's Daughter," and Miranda Lambert sang "Run Daddy Run." That trend continued with Catching Fire, with Coldplay's "Atlas," Christina Aguilera's "We Remain," Ellie Goulding's "Mirror," and Lorde's cover of "Everybody Wants to Rule the World." However, with both, there were a mix of lesser-known artists like Birdy (who also was on TFIOS soundtrack) and Jayme Dee. This time around, Lorde is the biggest name on the list, which no one is complaining about.

There are some big-time collaborations

Artists teamed up for other songs before, like Swift and The Civil Wars, but this soundtrack boasts the most collaborations. Stromae's track features Lorde, Pusha T, Q-Tip, and girl-group Haim, Charli XCX works with Simon Le Bon, Miguel adds to The Chemical Brothers' track, and Kanye remixes Lorde. Plus, the mysterious fifth track has a "various artists" credit, meaning it could be all of the above plus more artists. Maybe T. Swift pops in with Lorde? A girl can dream.

Two soundtracks have similar song titles

In the first movie, there was "Kingdom Come," and on Mockingjay, there's "Kingdom." And, comparatively, Hunger Games had "Take the Heartland" and Catching Fire had "Elastic Heart." Yes, these are just similar words, but they do align with what's happening in the entire trilogy. For original music to work together like that across three soundtracks is pretty impressive — I can't wait to see what they do with Mockingjay — Part 2.