Songfacts®:

• Noah Kahan recorded "Draw You Out" for The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, the sixth film instalment in The Hunger Games franchise. The prequel takes place 24 years before the events of the original Hunger Games, following 16-year-old District 12 tribute Haymitch Abernathy during the 50th Hunger Games, known as the Second Quarter Quell. For this milestone Quell, the Capitol doubled the usual tribute count, forcing 48 children into the arena instead of the customary 24.
• Kahan wrote the haunting song from Haymitch's point of view, drawing inspiration from his relationship with his girlfriend, Lenore Dove, played in the film adaptation by Whitney Peak. Their romance forms the emotional core of the track, mirroring the tragedy of her death after consuming a poisoned sweet. Kahan noted how the tragic yet hopeful story of Haymitch and Lenore Dove hugely moved him, and he wrote, "a song about the purpose, grief and perseverance through pain that they exemplify."
• In the chorus, Haymitch tries to hold on to her memory simply by saying her name aloud:
  
  I draw you out from the edge of my mouth
  It feels good to say your name
  
  Kahan warned listeners not to expect a warm, uplifting anthem in the vein of generic pop blockbusters. "It is sad, but you're not really coming to me if you're looking for heartwarming," he joked to Billboard. "This is not the scene where they're all like, fighting back."
  
  While acknowledging a thread of hope running through the track, he said the somber tone remains intact. "I'm still saying sad stuff. It just happens to have a cool beat behind it."
• Kahan co-wrote and co-produced "Draw You Out" with Aaron Dessner of The National, who previously collaborated with him on his The Great Divide album. Recording took place across Dessner's Long Pond Studio in New York, as well as Gold Pacific Studios and East Iris Studios in Nashville.
• Kahan is a devoted fan of the Hunger Games series and had already read all the novels and seen all the movies well before landing the job. Crafting the track required additional research into Suzanne Collins' books and the broader lore of Panem. Kahan aimed to channel Haymitch's heartbreak while maintaining his signature songwriting voice, which propelled hits like "Stick Season" to global fame. "I wanted there to be part of me in it," he told Billboard, "as a way to find parts of me in part of this character, and making sure that I didn't feel like I was sacrificing either one."
• "Draw You Out" was first teased on August 28, 2026, when Kahan posted a snippet of lyrics on X. It officially dropped as the lead single from The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping – The Album on October 2, 2026.
  
  Kahan is well aware of the franchise's history of recruiting heavy hitters for flagship soundtrack singles, following in the footsteps of Taylor Swift with "Safe And Sound," Coldplay with "Atlas," Lorde with "Yellow Flicker Beat" and Olivia Rodrigo with "Can't Catch Me Now." When Billboard pointed out the high-profile company he was joining, he laughed that the roster "sounds like my playlist on my phone."