Rachel Zegler takes on “The Hanging Tree” from The Hunger Games and the track just debuted on Friday (October 20)!
The 22-year-old actress will be performing the song as Lucy Gray Baird in the upcoming prequel movie The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, and it marks the origin of the song before it gets passed down generations.
If you recall, Jennifer Lawrence sang the song in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 back in 2014.
Listen to Rachel Zegler’s version inside…
The lyrics for “The Hanging Tree” were written by “The Hunger Games” author Suzanne Collins, and the music was created by composer James Newton Howard, with Jeremiah Fraites and Wesley Schultz from The Lumineers.
Fans were first treated to Rachel‘s version in the latest trailer for the upcoming prequel movie back in September.
Producer Nina Jacobson has called Rachel‘s singing in the movie “jaw-dropping.
“Rachel often would opt not to do playback, and just sing it live. Often, after they would call cut, people would just go bananas clapping!” she said, via Variety. “The big finale moment…un-f*cking-believable. Her voice is jaw-dropping.”
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes hits theaters in just under a month, on November 17th!