Lana Del Rey wrote a song she hoped would serve as the James Bond theme in 2015, but says it was rejected by the film franchise’s producers. The singer, 38, was speaking backstage at the Ivors in London, where she was recognised for her career and songwriting influence with a special award. Asked if she would consider writing a Bond theme, she responded: “I mean, how has that not happened?” The BBC reports that the “Summertime Sadness” artist then sang the chorus of her song “24”, from her 2015 album Honeymoon.
“I wrote that for them,” she said. The track’s release date would suggest that Del Rey hoped to feature in Spectre, which marked actor Daniel Craig’s fourth turn as the suave spy. Spectre’s theme was ultimately performed by Sam Smith, who won the Academy Award for Best Original Song with “Writing’s On the Wall”.
Del Rey said Smith did a “wonderful job” and joked that she would continue to do “my little Nancy Sinatra thing every now and then and just pretend it’s the title track.” Meanwhile, British pop star RAYE, who took home the biggest prize of the night (Songwriter of the Year), said she was stunned that Del Rey’s offering had been rejected: “She just has the perfect energy for it.” “I feel like she would eat that up – and I feel like that should happen in the future,” she added.
Elsewhere at the 2024 ceremony, Sir Paul McCartney presented rock star Bruce Springsteen with the Ivors Academy Fellowship, and made sur.
