WASHINGTON - Jennifer Lawrence, pop star?

A song sung by the Hunger Games actress may well make it to the top 40 of Billboard's Hot 100 Singles Chart after it landed on the singles charts in Australia (at No. 12) and Britain (No. 14), reported The Washington Post.

The Hanging Tree is performed by Lawrence's character in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part I.

The Post said the soulful song "begins quietly with just Lawrence singing a capella, but it builds 'Bolero'-style, with instruments joining in and finally a whole chorus of singers."

"Lawrence sounds good on the track with her raspy voice matching the dark narrative and Appalachian style of the music," it added.

Billboard magazine says it may sell upwards of 150,000 downloads in the United States in the week ending Nov 30, meaning it could debut in the top 40 of its singles chart.

If it does, it will be Oscar winner Lawrence's first single on the chart.

The tune was written by American composer James Newton Howard and folk rock band The Lumineers, and released as part of the score album for the Mockingjay film, which was released on Nov 24.

Suzanne Collins, author of the Hunger Games book series, wrote the lyrics.

Lawrence may well be a reluctant pop star. She has professed to a dislike of singing publicly.

"I do not like singing in front of other people. That's like my biggest fear," she told David Letterman on his Late Show recently . "I cried on set that day... It was awful."

Asked what song she sang in the movie, she replied: "The Hanging Tree, which is where I felt like going the morning I showed up."