"No Time to Die" is a song by American singer and songwriterBillie Eilish. It is the theme song of the upcoming James Bond film of the same name, and was released through Darkroom and Interscope Records on February 13, 2020. The song was written by Eilish and her brother Finneas O'Connell, and recorded in a bedroom studio. At age 18, Eilish is the youngest artist to have written and recorded a James Bond theme song. "No Time to Die" debuted atop the Irish Singles Chart and the UK Singles Chart. It became Eilish's first number-one single in the UK and made her the first artist born in the 21st century to top the chart. Furthermore, the song became the first James Bond theme by a female artist to top the UK chart, as well as only the second Bond theme ever to top that chart. In the United States, "No Time to Die" debuted and peaked at number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100. The previous Bond theme, Sam Smith's "Writing's on the Wall" from 2015's Spectre, peaked at number 71.
Background
In January 2019, Eilish told her management that she wanted to be involved "if any Bond things come up…whatever we have to do we will do". When the opportunity did arise, the pair jumped into action to book a recording studio, but it left them "intensely uninspired" and suffering from writer's block. Following this lacklustre day in the studio and they ended up writing and recording the song in a tour bus in Texas, after Finneas came up with an initial chord progression; in just three days the song was written and recorded. Prior to this, the siblings had a meeting with Bond producer Barbara Broccoli, who sent them the script for the opening scene in order to give them a bit of inspiration, which Eilish said was "so cool" and "really, really helpful." Finneas claimed it was useful to go back to listen to previous Bond themes to ensure they were on the right track and did not copy or recreate something which had already been done before, adding that "there are few things in your career that are as desirable as doing a Bond song. We did not take the opportunity lightly and worked as hard as we could to prove ourselves". Eilish also revealed that Daniel Craig himself had a major role in vetting the submissions.
Composition
"No Time to Die" is a ballad. The track runs at 74 BPM and is in the key of E minor. It runs at four minutes and two seconds. According to Roisin O'Connor of The Independent, the song "features classic elements of the most memorable Bond themes including a slow build; a dark, shivery theme; and dramatic orchestration". Cassie Da Costa of The Daily Beast said the song "begins with moody, atmospheric piano music before Billie's pop-enunciated alto vibrato creeps in with depressive yet vague observations about love, loss, and violence". The song features orchestral arrangements by Hans Zimmer as well as Johnny Marr on guitar.
Promotion
Eilish was announced as the performer of the theme song for the 25th film in the James Bond franchise in January 2020, initially via the franchise's official Twitter account. Eilish called the opportunity "a huge honor", and O'Connell said they "feel so so lucky to play a small role in such a legendary franchise". No Time to Die director Cary Joji Fukunaga described himself as a fan of the duo, and the film's producers, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, said the song is "impeccably crafted". At the 92nd Academy Awards, Eilish said the ballad was "written" and "done". Eilish performed the song live for the first time at the 2020 Brit Awards on February 18, 2020.
Critical reception
Alexis Petridis of The Guardian gave an overall positive review, stating, "'No Time to Die' is a confident, appealing addition to the Bond theme canon." Chris Willman of Variety wrote that "'No Time to Die' is one of the better Bond songs of the last 25 or 30 years." Roisin O'Connor of The Independent stated that "'No Time To Die' is one of the best Bond theme songs we've had in some time." Alexa Camp of Slant Magazine said, "the lush, darkly cinematic track falls in line with past 007 themes". Cassie Da Costa of The Daily Beast described the song as "not at the level of Shirley Bassey's 'Goldfinger' or Nancy Sinatra's 'You Only Live Twice'". She added "it's certainly not Eilish's best, but as of late, the Bond universe has been perfectly satisfied with good enough." In June 2020, the song was listed as the 22nd best song of 2020 so far by Billboard.
