How Billie Eilish Created The Perfect James Bond Theme | Pop Culture Decoded

Presented by Smirnoff

Billie Eilish is the youngest artist to record a James Bond theme song. It's an epic task, and plenty of artists, from Madonna to Sheena Easton, have fallen short, producing themes that are ruthlessly criticized or just forgettable. Others, like Shirley Bassey and Adele, have contributed classic songs that left their musical stamps on the franchise. Here, we decipher the musical code of the 007 themes to find out what makes a song sound like quintessential Bond — and see whether Eilish's entry fits the bill.

------------------------------------------------------

#Insider #JamesBond #PopCultureDecoded

Insider is great journalism about what passionate people actually want to know. That’s everything from news to food, celebrity to science, politics to sports and all the rest. It’s smart. It’s fearless. It’s fun. We push the boundaries of digital storytelling. Our mission is to inform and inspire.

How Billie Eilish Created The Perfect James Bond Theme | Pop Culture Decoded

[HipyoTech]

Yo but why no one mention Finneas who produced it?

[waywardmind]

Casino Royale, Skyfall, and No Time to Die are all fantastic Bond themes.

[arijeanz]

you can love or hate no time to die for all i care, but it's undeniable that billie understood the goddamn assignment. she did a great job

[its_matt_long]

"Notice how Billie"... no mention of Finneas here?! 😥 creative genius!

[big_ol_ball]

The lack of any mention of Radiohead’s song for Spectre is a crime

[trevorearis]

James Bond theme songs are a whole genre in themselves. When other artists outside of Bond movies and theme songs do a similar kind of thing, the subject matter is usually mysterious.
Take Caro Emerald. She's done a number of songs in that Bond vein. Also Robbie Williams also did one.
Great video.

[spencersuen]

no time to die and skyfall are the only Bond themes that give me chills every. damn. time.

[TheMcrozz]

If anyone interested, there’s podcast Art of the Score, episodes 18–20, they talked about “bond formula” and what makes bond music sound bondy

[zahone]

The perfect james bond theme for me is skyfall by adele, supremacy by muse (skyfall), surrender by kd. Lang (tomorrow never dies), and radioheads's spectre. I like no time to die tho, it fits the atmosphere.

[aishanibhattacharya]

Honestly I liked Chris Cornell's You know my name, from Casino Royale.
Kind of perfectly captured Craig's Bond aesthetic.
A bit old themed as well as modern elements.
It had the classic guitar riffs as well as an independent rock music vibe.
Adele's skyfall imo was a masterpiece, really did justice to the enigma of Skyfall and scotland.

[spacemonkey]

You gotta givet to both Billie Eilish and her Brother Finneas for the new James Bond theme song

[GregoriusRooseno]

Michael Bubble's take on Feelin Good is the best Bond Theme that never was...

[sendforacar]

Billy didn't write the arrangement her brother wrote the arrangements. So it's not her take on the song it's his take on the song, give credit work credit is due.

[francopayan]

I still think Adele made the perfect James bond song

[elomelalala]

The first time i heard skyfall, it definitely gave me Major Bond feels. I feel it is one of the best Bond songs

[theseventhgeneration]

1. Amazing vocalist
2. Orchestra
3. Writer with a masterful sense of the world and it's emotions.

[kaneki]

billie has said once that she used to make bond songs with her brother as writing practice for her songs and others should do something like that too as it's a great help in writing. i think even that played a major role in how good no time to die was as it helps with the bond-ness of the song

[michellew.]

Even when you strip the instrumental away: You have the halftone steps in the melody that are set to the downbeats and emphasized by the singer timbre that creates the james bond suspence.

[racheltheclumsy]

I really appreciated the delicate aspects of the song, it is, at first glance, a little too tender to be a Bond Theme, especially compared to Skyfall which is epic and angsty and belty. This, however, perfectly reflects the movie itself. No Time To Die was by far the most heartfelt and heart-wrenching of the films while still incorporating everything that makes a good Bond film, and Billie's song reflects that. You could say it's almost...lullaby-esque in some ways...spoilers.

[somenobodyaspresident]

I can’t believe no one is mentioning Live and Let Die. Heading that orchestra kick in was an indescribable feeling that only Skyfall has matched.