Rumors have been circulating for months, but now it has now been confirmed that Sam Smith (“Stay with Me,” ” “I’m Not the Only One”) will perform the theme song to the 24th James Bond film, SPECTRE. The SPECTRE theme song, titled “Writing’s on the Wall,” will be available through Capitol Records to purchase and stream on September 25.
Smith co-wrote the song with his fellow Grammy winner Jimmy Napes and it’s quite a coup for the singer who emerged with his 2014 debut album “In The Lonely Hour” debuting at #1 in the UK and #2 in the United States.
Smith will be the first British male solo artist to perform a Bond theme song since Tom Jones performed the theme from Thunderball in 1965. (Paul McCartney performed the theme song for Live and Let Die with his band Wings and Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell isn’t British.)
In the press release from Sony, SPECTRE producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli said: “Sam and Jimmy have written the most inspirational song for SPECTRE and with Sam’s extraordinary vocal performance, ‘Writing’s On The Wall’ will surely be considered one of the greatest Bond songs of all time.”
While Smith added, “This is one of the highlights of my career. I am honoured to finally announce that I will be singing the next Bond theme song. I am so excited to be a part of this iconic British legacy and join an incredible line up of some of my biggest musical inspirations. I hope you all enjoy the song as much as I enjoyed making it.”
The previous theme song from Skyfall was performed by Adele and it received the Academy and Golden Globe awards for “Best Original Song” as well as the Grammy Award for “Best Song Written for Visual Media” and the Brit Award for “British Single of the Year.”
In the film once again directed by Sam Mendes, a cryptic message from the past sends James Bond (Daniel Craig) on a rogue mission to Mexico City and eventually Rome, where he meets Lucia Sciarra (Monica Bellucci), the beautiful and forbidden widow of an infamous criminal. Bond infiltrates a secret meeting and uncovers the existence of the sinister organisation known as SPECTRE.
Meanwhile back in London, Max Denbigh (Andrew Scott), the new head of the Centre for National Security, questions Bond’s actions and challenges the relevance of MI6, led by M (Ralph Fiennes). Bond covertly enlists Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) and Q (Ben Whishaw) to help him seek out Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux), the daughter of his old nemesis Mr White (Jesper Christensen), who may hold the clue to untangling the web of SPECTRE. As the daughter of an assassin, she understands Bond in a way most others cannot.
As Bond ventures towards the heart of SPECTRE, he learns of a chilling connection between himself and the enemy he seeks, played by Christoph Waltz.”
SPECTRE is scheduled for release in the UK on October 26 and in the United States on November 6.
