Who’s in the running for the next Bond theme?
By Ben Kelly
With the first trailer having been released, there’s now much speculation around the next Bond instalment, Spectre. Is Ernst Blofeld making a return? Will Daniel Craig be shirtless again? And who on earth will take up the mighty task of writing a theme song to follow the Oscar winning Skyfall? Here, we take a look at who’s in the running…
Sam Smith
It’s almost too obvious that everyone’s favourite pop star of the moment Sam Smith will bag the Bond theme, but if they’re playing it safe, he’s got it in the bag – he even has that ‘male Adele’ tag which could help bosses ensure they get a similar deal to Skyfall, but with a new face. In December when quizzed on it, he told Zane Lowe, “You know as much as I do”, but went on to say “I would love to do it”. He also suggested Lana Del Rey or the Arctic Monkeys as possible alternatives, but by and large, our money’s on him.
Paloma Faith
Our former cover star, and all round BFF Paloma, told us way back last year she was desperate for the job, but now fears she’s spoiled her chances. Speaking at International Women’s Day last month, she said “In the industry that I’m in, if you ask for something or you seem like you want something you don’t get it. You’re supposed to pretend that you’re really cool as a cucumber and stuff just comes to you, but I’m not really that type of person. But now I’ve messed it for myself because I’ve told everyone that I would like to do it.” She did, however, get the blessing of Shirley Bassey when the pair recorded a duet of Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend last year.
Noel Gallagher
The former Oasis star threw his hat in the ring last month – which admittedly might be a bit late – to say he’d like to do the next theme. “I would do it in a heartbeat. I could do it, and it would be great”, he was reported as saying. We can imagine this might have been a viable option in the days of Garbage, Sheryl Crow and even Jack White, but it seems an unlikely option for 2015.
Lana Del Rey
Lana’s been a bookies’ favourite since even before Skyfall, and perhaps her time has finally come in 2015. She’s a big name, she’s got the right sense of danger and melancholy in her songs, and we could even see her making a cameo as a Bond girl-cum-double agent. Her Twin Peaks style alternative pop has certain Bond tones already, and many point to her rendition of Young and Beautiful for The Great Gatsby soundtrack, and Once Upon A Dream for Maleficent as evidence she’s ready for the biggest job in movie soundtracks.
Adele
Alright, it’s not the most original choice, considering she performed 2012’s Skyfall, but with bosses hoping to repeat the success of the last movie with the same director and screenwriter, it’s also been rumoured they’ve asked Adele back to repeat the success of her Oscar winning theme song. There were even reports that Daniel Craig himself requested MGM reselect her for the song. It wouldn’t be the first time a performer has returned for a second go: the Queen of Bond Shirley Bassey did it three times.
Director Sam Mendes revealed he knew the identity of the performer as early as December 2014, but said we shouldn’t expect to find out until “very very late in the day”.
[youtube height=”HEIGHT” width=”WIDTH”]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ashLaclKCik[/youtube]
Spectre is set to be released on 5th November 2015.