Hunger Games star Jennifer Lawrence has made no bones about how much she hates to sing. Somewhat ironic, then, that her moment as a pop star has clearly arrived. Not only has “Hanging Tree” climbed the charts in both the U.S. and the U.K., but it has also inspired an equally haunting dance remix. Watch it here, along with footage from the first three movies.
Lawrence has expressed a distaste for social media over the years, so it’s no surprise that she hasn’t said much about the remix. Perhaps she said everything she needed to say when she appeared on Saturday Night Live with Hunger Games co-star Woody Harrelson, and commented that her singing sounded like “a deer caught in a fence,” adding that no one wanted to hear her sing. When the crowd cheered her, she laughed and said “No, really.”
Fans seem to have mixed opinions of the dance remix of the now well known song from the third Hunger Games movie. Some fans are thrilled, as seen below.
They made a club remix to the song Jennifer Lawrence sings in the hunger games sewwwww my life is complete
— Danye (@DaniellePanizzi) December 19, 2014
Others are horrified.
Dont like the Hanging Tree song remix. They should have left it just like they did it in the movie. #MockingJay
— Itzel (@_itzy_9) December 20, 2014
that hanging tree remix is a disgrace to the hunger games. I volunteer whoever thought of it as tribute.
— Mary Blanchard (@marydblanchard) December 19, 2014
For the few people on the planet who haven’t heard the song, which seems to have become the unofficial theme of the Hunger Games fans, “The Hanging Tree” begins with Lawrence’s raspy voice alone, then expands to include first a choir, and eventually an orchestra. It plays over a particularly moving portion of the film, as the districts continue to rebel against the Capital, suffering terrible losses as they do so.
If one remix of the iconic song from the Hunger Games isn’t enough for you, check out the one from DJ Michael Gazzo, featured on Yahoo! Music and Entertainment Weekly . He said the following.
“Currently topping the charts in almost every single country, the track was a no brainer when it came to remixing! My take on ‘Hanging Tree’ is much lighter, and listener friendly. Although the nature of the track is dark, I envisioned it uplifting an entire group of people to rise up. To unite.”
One could argue that it was doing that in the first place, and that music doesn’t have to be “listener friendly” in order to move people. After all, the original version seemed to do quite well. But hey, now we have versions to dance to.
Love the new remix of the Hunger Games song? Find it a little too Capital for your tastes? Sound off in the comments.
