Noah Kahan approached writing a song for the new Hunger Games film with a seriousness that bordered on meticulous.
The Stick Season singer aimed to honor young Haymitch Abernathy and his District 12 sweetheart Lenore Dove in Draw You Out for The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping.
Already a fan of the franchise, Noah told Billboard that music plays a huge role in the Hunger Games in many ways.
“And to be able to mirror what the director sees in these characters, what Suzanne Collins wrote for them, and to try to align with that is a big task—but a really enjoyable challenge.”
While Taylor Swift, Lorde, Coldplay and Olivia Rodrigo have all contributed songs to the blockbuster dystopian sci‑fi saga, the pressure here came from wanting to honor the people behind it all, including author Suzanne Collins and director Francis Lawrence.
He explained: “Not just because of the company you’re keeping with Taylor, Lorde, Olivia, Coldplay.”
“It’s more doing justice to a bunch of people that have a really deep, intimate connection with these characters and these stories, and the trust from a director to be like, ‘you could do this,’ is really special. I take that very seriously.”
It was also important that Noah had a personal connection: “I wanted there to be part of me in it, as a way to find parts of me in this character, and to make sure that I didn’t feel like either side was sacrificed.”
He added: “I think if you’re like, ‘I’m just going to write a song about Haymitch,’ and then have to perform it for the rest of my life or sit there in the studio and put a lot of love into it, I don’t know if I can connect with it if I don’t feel like parts of me are in there.”
“And I really do feel proud of being able to find that balance on this song. It’s a really cool experience, and I just can’t believe that I get to be a part of it.”
Noah has long been recognized for weaving melancholy into a glossy, radio-ready beat—and he shows no intention of diverging from that approach.
“It [Draw You Out] is sad, but you’re not really coming to me if you’re looking for heartwarming. This is not the scene where they’re all like, fighting back.”
“There is some hope baked in… there are uplifting moments, but if you really listen, I’m still saying sad things. It just happens to ride on a cool beat.”
Draw You Out is available now.
