Billie Eilish has been chosen to perform the new James Bond theme song, becoming the youngest artist to sing and write the title track in the franchise’s 50-year history.
The 18-year-old “bad guy” singer co-wrote “No Time To Die” with her brother and music collaborator Finneas. The forthcoming No Time To Die film is set to release in April 2020, featuring Daniel Craig’s fifth and final time as 007.
The news was officially announced on the 007 Twitter account on Tuesday (Jan. 14). On Instagram, Eilish shared the accomplishment with the caption: “No Time To Die” JAMES BOND. AND I AM SINGING THE THEME SONG. WHAAT”
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“It feels crazy to be a part of this in every way. To be able to score the theme song to a film that is part of such a legendary series is a huge honor. James Bond is the coolest film franchise ever to exist. I’m still in shock,” the young singer said in a statement obtained by Variety.
Finneas added: “Writing the theme song for a Bond film is something we’ve been dreaming about doing our entire lives. There is no more iconic pairing of music and cinema than the likes of Goldfinger and Live And Let Die. We feel so so lucky to play a small role in such a legendary franchise, long live 007.”
Eilish joins an acclaimed group of artists who have performed the theme song, including Sam Smith (“Spectre”) and Adele (“Skyfall”), who both received an Academy Award for Best Original Song for their catchy theme tracks. She follows iconic singers and composers including Tina Turner (“GoldenEye”), Carly Simon (“Nobody Does It Better”) and Paul McCartney (“Live and Let Die”), whose voices also captivated film’s theme track.
Eilish celebrated her 18th birthday on Dec. 18, concluding a whirlwind 2019 for the young singer-songwriter. The past year propelled Eilish to new heights, thanks to her debut album release—which earned the singer six Grammy nominations, four of which landed in major categories. In March 2019, she released her chart-topping debut album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, home to hits like “bad guy” and “all the good girls go to hell.” The album debuted No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart and scored the second-biggest week of 2019 for any album.
At the end of 2019, the Eilish was honored as Billboard’s Woman of the Year, Apple Music’s Global Artist of the Year, Variety’s Hitmaker of the Year and SPIN’s Artist of the Year.
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