Billie Eilish unveils soundtrack for James Bond movie No Time To Die
The career of 18-year-old pop star Billie Eilish keeps getting bigger and crazier by the month. After taking home five Grammy Awards for her debut record When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go, the singer was invited to perform the memorial segment at the Oscars as well. Only weeks before, it was announced that she had the honor of writing and recording the theme song for the upcoming James Bond movie No Time To Die, together with her brother and tong-term collaborator Finneas. Eilish just premiered the song titled ‘No Time To Die’ (just like the movie) and it is the first new material by the singer after the December release of ‘Everything I Wanted’.
Bond-fans who might have been worried that Billie Eilish would come up with a completely new take on Bond-soundtracks, were probably somewhat relieved when they heard ‘No Time To Die’. The song is in no way a complete departure from the ones that came before her (not in a way that Jack White and Alicia Keys did with ‘Another Way To Die’ at least). The cinematic and bombastic instrumentation is certainly there, be it in a more subtle manner than your average Shirley Bassey tune. ‘No Time To Die’ starts out with a haunting piano melody and Billie’s characteristic subdued and just has haunting vocal style. There is a tension in the verses that builds to the dramatic, compelling chorus. The instrumentation grows bigger and stronger towards the climax as does Billie’s voice. The volume and dynamic in her vocals here is unusual for her, but she sounds beautiful.
Although Eilish decided to incorporate the bombastic and cinematic Bond-sound in this tune, it never feels like we lose her in it. ‘No Time To Die’ certainly sounds like a Billie Eilish song, thanks to the ominous vibe, the melodies and the vocal work. The only slight let-down here are some of the lyrics. Sentences like “We were a pair, but I saw you there, too much to bear” definitely do not belong to the best rhymes written by Billie and Finneas, but other than that, she totally nailed this Bond-theme, which has the potential to approach Adele’s level of success with ‘Skyfall’.
Update: Billie Eilish just performed a flawless live rendition of ‘No Time To Die’ at the Brit Awards. She sounded gorgeous throughout the performance and she nailed the big note. This sounds so good with an orchestra behind her!