Several James Bond theme songs have been nominated for an Oscar for Best Original song, and only a few of them have managed to walk away from the ceremony with the golden statuette. As a series of big-budget action movies, the Bond franchise rarely gets any attention from the Academy. An actor playing 007 has never been nominated for Best Actor, none of the scripts have been nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, and a Bond movie has never been nominated for Best Picture. However, it does appear that the theme songs stand out the most, particularly because the lyrics are fitting with the spy genre and resonate deeply.
Ever since Shirley Bassey recorded her iconic title theme for Goldfinger, theme songs by contemporary pop artists have become a fan-favorite staple of the Bond franchise. Just like megalomaniacal villains and trips to exotic locales, Bond fans expect a catchy theme song by a renowned pop star when they go to see a new 007 adventure. Such iconic musicians as Tom Jones, Nancy Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, and Tina Turner have recorded their own Bond themes. It took years before a Bond movie’s theme song was nominated for an Academy Award and it took even longer before one took home the trophy.
"Live And Let Die" By Paul McCartney Was Only Nominated
At the 46th Academy Awards, Paul McCartney & Wings’ theme from Live and Let Die was nominated for Best Original Song. “Live and Let Die” is one of the only Bond themes to transcend its connection to the franchise and become a beloved pop hit in its own right. It’s been covered by Guns N’ Roses and spoofed by Spy Hard's “Weird Al” Yankovic in the unreleased parody song “Chicken Pot Pie.” McCartney had the bad luck of going up against another one of the few movie themes to become a hit song in its own right at the same ceremony.
“Live and Let Die” lost to Barbra Streisand’s title song from The Way We Were. Which of these songs would win the Oscar was a subject of much debate; they both could’ve laid claim to the title of the best original song from a movie that year but, in the end, “The Way We Were” beat “Live and Let Die”. Still “Live and Let Die” had already made history as the first ever Bond theme to receive an Oscar nomination and did win the Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) at the Grammys.
"Nobody Does It Better" By Carly Simon Was Nominated & Featured In The Spy Who Loved Me
“Nobody Does It Better,” which featured in Roger Moore's iconic The Spy Who Loved Me, was sung by Carly Simon and composed by Marvin Hamlisch (with lyrics by Carole Bayer Sager); it was nominated for Best Original Song at the 50th Academy Awards. “Nobody Does It Better” was one of the most commercially successful Bond themes at the time, but it lost the Oscar to Joseph Brooks’ title song from You Light Up My Life. Songs from movies that are specifically about music, like Crazy Heart, A Star is Born, and You Light Up My Life, are usually a favorites for the Best Original Song category.
"For Your Eyes Only" by Sheena Easton Was Only Nominated
Sheena Easton’s theme from For Your Eyes Only, with music by Bill Conti and lyrics by Mick Leeson, was nominated for Best Original Song at the 54th Academy Awards. "For Your Eyes Only" lost to Christopher Cross' “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do),” from the classic Dudley Moore comedy Arthur. Easton faced tough competition from Lionel Richie’s Endless Love theme, Randy Newman’s “One More Hour” from Ragtime, and Joe Raposo’s “The First Time It Happens” from The Great Muppet Caper, but “Arthur’s Theme” won because its credits are full of musical heavyweights like Burt Bacharach and Cross.
"Skyfall" by Adele Won The Oscar For Best Original Song
Adele’s theme from Bassey’s classic Bond themes, which reignited the Academy’s interest in Bond music.
“Skyfall” faced some strong competition in the Best Original Song category at the 85th Academy Awards. The other nominees included such acclaimed tracks as “Everybody Needs a Best Friend” by Seth MacFarlane and Walter Murphy from Ted, “Pi’s Lullaby” by Mychael Danna and Bombay Jayashri from Life of Pi, and “Suddenly,” a new musical number written specifically for the movie adaptation of Les Misérables. Any one of these songs could’ve received the Oscar and the choice would’ve made sense, but the universal praise met by Adele’s Bond theme – as well as residual goodwill from the franchise’s legendary history – won it the award.
"Writing's On The Wall" by Sam Smith Won An Oscar & Featured In Spectre
The next Bond movie after Skyfall, Surprisingly, at the 88th Academy Awards, Sam Smith and Jimmy Napes won the award for their Spectre theme, “Writing’s on the Wall.” Smith’s Oscar win was a little shocking, because their Bond theme had received mixed reviews in comparison to others. Digital Spy described the lyrics as “an emotional tug that’s alien to Bond’s love-them-and-leave-them schtick.” The consensus among negative critics was that “Writing’s on the Wall” was a fine Sam Smith song, but didn’t have any of the unique qualities that define a Bond theme.
Based on the mixed reception to the song – and the mixed reception to the movie in general – Smith’s Spectre theme wasn’t expected to take home the Oscar. However, after the precedent set by Adele’s Oscar win for the last Daniel Craig Bond theme song, Academy voters responded warmly to a new 007 theme. That, paired with the fact that none of the other Best Original Song nominees were particularly big hits (like the Weeknd’s “Earned It” from Fifty Shades of Grey or Lady Gaga and Diane Warren’s “Til It Happens to You” from The Hunting Ground), clinched the award for Smith.
"No Time To Die" By Billie Eilish Won An Oscar
Eilish and O’Connell’s theme from No Time to Die beat out Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “Dos Oruguitas” from Encanto and Van Morrison’s “Down to Joy” from Belfast to win Best Original Song at the 94th Academy Awards. Thanks to various COVID-related delays to the film’s release, Eilish’s No Time to Die theme was recorded and released over a year before the movie hit theaters. When she recorded the song at the age of 17, Eilish became the youngest artist to record a theme song for a Bond film.
Not only was Eilish’s Academy Award win a highlight, but she also made history as she became the first person born in the 21st century to win an Academy Award (via The Wrap). Since “No Time to Die” had also won the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media, the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, and the Critics’ Choice Movie Award for Best Song, it was the likely candidate to win the Oscar. After Smith’s song was criticized for not capturing the familiar feel of a James Bond theme, Eilish’s song was widely praised for its traditionally Bondian tune.
