For our ears only. One of the eagerly-anticipated aspects of a new Daniel Craig 007 thriller is the new title track and any clues it may offer to the new adventure. The new theme song for No Time To Die, the 25th entry in the iconic franchise, has now been released.
Written and performed by Billie Eilish and produced by her brother FINNEAS, it has an orchestral arrangement by Hans Zimmer and Matt Dunkley, with guitar support by Johnny Marr. The new theme song will be performed live for the first time at the upcoming Brit Awards in London on February 18th, an awards ceremony which always receives huge attention from across the music and entertainment industry. In a press release, the Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson said that Billie and her brother ‘have written an incredibly powerful and moving song’, which is ‘impeccably crafted to work within the emotional story of the film’.
Early reaction from music critics and the British media more generally have been enthusiastic. The UK’s Guardian newspaper, for example, in its review, has awarded the new title track a strong 4 stars out of 5, calling the song a ‘tasteful’ track which ‘matches the haunted solitude of its leading man’. As the newspaper noted, the new title song is not a Bassey-style song which belts out the lyrics, but opts instead for a close-mic and slower approach, which at one stage has a hint of Monty Norman’s James Bond theme in the background. As well as satisfy her own fan-base, it may also help Billie reach out to a wider and more mature audience. At the same time, the new song retains Billie’s distinctive style and, in the Guardian‘s view, it is a confident, appealing addition to the Bond theme canon.
Watch this space for further news as it develops. You know the name, and you know the number. Bond is well and truly back.
New 007 singer Billie Eilish