The name is Smith. Sam Smith.
The Grammy Award-winning British singer-songwriter has been confirmed as co-writer and performer of the theme song of upcoming James Bond film Spectre. On Monday, the In the Lonely Hour singer strongly hinted that he would sing the latest Bond theme when he tweeted a black-and-white image of his hand wearing a ring with SPECTRE’s seven-legged emblem on it; the same ring features prominently in the film’s trailer.
— SAM SMITH (@samsmithworld) September 7, 2015
The song “Writing’s On The Wall” will be released on Sept. 25, a month ahead of the movie’s theatrical debut on Oct. 26 in the. U.K. The North American release of “Spectre” is set for Nov. 6. Smith has co-written the title song with fellow Grammy award winner Jimmy Napes, who worked with him on the number one hits Stay With Me and La La La. It is the first James Bond theme song recorded by a British male solo artist since 1965.
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. — SAM SMITH (@samsmithworld) September 8, 2015
“Sam and Jimmy Napes 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,” said producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, in a statement. He joins the likes of Paul McCartney, Madonna, Carly Simon and Duran Duran in the annals of folks who’ve done Bond songs over the years. More recently Chris Cornell, the duo of Jack White and Alicia Keys, and Adele have been tapped for the honor — the latter’s theme for 2012’s Skyfall won a Grammy, Golden Globe and Oscar.
You can pre-order ‘Writing’s On The Wall’ on CD or vinyl here http://t.co/7RpiBDtuUH, or on iTunes from midnight. pic.twitter.com/c9vphqANqW
— SAM SMITH (@samsmithworld) September 8, 2015
Ellie Goulding, Radiohead and Lana Del Ray had also been in the running to record the Spectre theme song. Goulding had heavily hinted her involvement in the production with a picture posted on Instagram in July. The picture showed the singer leaving the world famous Abbey Road Studios with the caption: “It’s a wrap”.
“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,” said Smith.
As befits the usual cloak of secrecy surrounding the Bond series, Smith on several previous occasions had denied that he was doing the “Spectre” song. “That’s not me,” he told BBC Radio 2.
