The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping album arrives Nov. 13 with 29 tracks from Ella Langley, Jennifer Lawrence, Stevie Nicks and more. See the list.
"The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping (The Album)" will be released on Friday, Nov. 13 through MCA, one week before the movie opens in theaters on Nov. 20. The full 29-song track list was announced on Monday, Nov. 2, and it includes a new song from Jennifer Lawrence, a country-heavy run of artists led by Ella Langley, and tracks from Stevie Nicks, The Cure and Depeche Mode.
When does the Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping album come out?
The album arrives Nov. 13, according to the label's announcement as posted by Universal Music Canada. Film Music Reporter says it will come out digitally and physically, with a digital version, a 2-CD set and a double vinyl edition up for pre-order. The film, from Lionsgate, hits U.S. theaters on Nov. 20, and Film Music Reporter adds that a separate album of James Newton Howard's film score will be released that same day.
Who is on the soundtrack?
Dave Cobb, the Grammy-winning producer, executive produced the album, which Universal says brings together 29 cross-genre artists. The names that stand out, from the track list released by the label:
- Ella Langley, "Here Then We're Gone"
- Jennifer Lawrence, "Deep in the Meadow"
- Kacey Musgraves, "Ruthless (Arena Mix)"
- Stevie Nicks, "Doing the Best That I Can (Arena Mix)"
- Tyler Childers, "Old Money"
- Noah Cyrus, "Ash and Snow," and Mckenna Grace, "Half Alive"
- The Smashing Pumpkins, "Black Stars," and Noah Kahan, "Draw You Out"
- The Cure, "Alone (Live in Berlin 2022)," and Depeche Mode with Karyyn, "Survive (Arena Mix | Karyyn Rework)"
Whitney Peak, who stars in the film, appears on the opening track "The Raven I" and on two more tracks that share the name. Three songs are already out, per the announcement: Kahan's "Draw You Out," which was the lead single, plus "Black Stars" and Gigi Perez's "Favor."
Is it a score or a song album?
It is a song album. Variety's Chris Willman describes it as an old-fashioned "inspired by" collection, noting that few of the songs are likely to appear in the film, as with earlier Hunger Games albums. The score is the separate James Newton Howard release on Nov. 20. Variety adds that some tracks are new remixes or unreleased live versions of older songs, including the Musgraves, Nicks, Cure and Depeche Mode entries, and that Lawrence is understood to have a small role in the movie.
What is the movie about?
Billboard says the film, directed by Francis Lawrence, centers on 16-year-old Haymitch Abernathy from District 12, beginning the morning of the reaping for the 50th annual Hunger Games. It is set 24 years before the original trilogy and follows Haymitch as he tries to stop the Games from inside the arena. Film Music Reporter lists Joseph Zada, Jesse Plemons, Ralph Fiennes, Elle Fanning, Glenn Close, Kieran Culkin, Mckenna Grace, Maya Hawke, Whitney Peak and Kelvin Harrison Jr. in the cast.
What is confirmed and what is not?
- Confirmed by the label and reported by Variety, Billboard and Film Music Reporter: the Nov. 13 date, the 29 songs and the full track list.
- Reported by Film Music Reporter: the digital, 2-CD and double vinyl formats on Amazon, and the Nov. 20 score album. We did not see prices for those formats, so we are not listing any.
- Not known: which songs, if any, are actually used in the film, and whether Lawrence's song plays during it.
Our take
This is a real mixtape, and the strongest part is the country and Americana lean. Langley has the year's biggest single, according to Variety, and Childers, Musgraves and Carter Faith make it a good listen for anyone who likes that lane even if they have never read the books. At 29 tracks, it is also long, and Film Music Reporter's track times show five entries running about a minute or less (the three "Raven" pieces, "The Goose and The Common" and "The Old Therebefore"), so the real song count is closer to 24. That is our count from those posted times, and it is opinion on how the list reads, not a review of audio we have not heard.
A practical tip for U.S. fans: the album is out a full week before the film, so it works as a Nov. 13 listen and not as a movie spoiler. The score comes with the film, so if you want orchestral music, wait for Nov. 20.
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Picture credit: MCA Records
