Watch Billie Eilish Perform the James Bond Theme ‘No Time to Die’ at the Brit Awards
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Billie Eilish made her first live performance of the theme from the new James Bond film, “No Time to Die,” at the Brit Awards in London on Monday night. She was joined for the performance by her brother Finneas, as usual, along with former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr and superstar film composer Hans Zimmer, both of whom contributed to the studio version of the song.
Most impressively, Eilish nailed the challenging high note at the end of the song — watch the performance below.
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As is often the case with the Brit Awards, many of the winners are artists that would make most Americans say, “Who?” (Mabel, Foals, Celeste, Dave.) But Lewis Capaldi and Stormzy both won big, and Eilish and Tyler, the Creator both took International awards — see the full winners’ list below.
British male: Stormzy
British female: Mabel
British group: Foals
Rising star: Celeste
Best new artist: Lewis Capaldi
Best song: Lewis Capaldi – “Someone You Loved”
Best album: Dave – “Psychodrama”
International male: Tyler, the Creator
International female: Billie Eilish
Last week, the singer dropped the studio version of the song, from the film of the same name that out April 10. The song is the second she and brother/musical collaborator Finneas have dropped since the spring release of her blockbuster debut full-length, “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?,” after “Everything I Wanted,” which dropped late last year.
“No Time to Die” is slow and ominous, with Eilish flexing the high, quavery register of her voice in a way not unlike her take on “Yesterday.” But the Bond-ian touch comes when an orchestra swells in the background, gaining intensity as the song progresses before it closes with a twangy guitar chord that subtly evokes the Bond themes of the ’60s. The song includes legendary Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, with orchestral arrangements by Hans Zimmer and Matt Dunkley.
Eilish is the youngest artist ever to write and record a Bond theme.
Interestingly two of the most recent Bond themes — Adele’s “Skyfall” and Sam Smith’s “Writing’s on the Wall” — are the only songs from the films to win Best Song Academy Awards.
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