Ed Sheeran Recalls Losing James Bond Theme Song To Billie Eilish

Ed Sheeran says that it “hurt” to lose out on the theme song for “No Time to Die” to Billie Eilish.

Ed Sheeran admitted that it “hurt” having his theme for the James Bond film No Time To Die scrapped for a track from Billie Eilish. Sheeran spoke about the experience during an appearance on the That Peter Crouch Podcast, revealing that he had “already started” writing the song when he learned he’d been swapped out.

“They changed directors and then they just changed scripts and that was it. We had done all the meetings. I started writing it,” Sheeran explained.

He added that he’d still love to do a theme song for another Bond project in the future despite the negative experience.

“Yeah, of course,” he said. “I’m not gonna pretend it didn’t hurt not doing it, but yeah I would. I think eventually as an English singer you’ve got to eventually do a Bond song. If they came back I’d be like, ‘Yeah, of course.’”

Eilish’s theme song ended up winning the 2022 Academy Award for “Best Original Song,” as well as a Grammy Award for “Best Song Written for Visual Media.”

Other artists to contribute theme songs for the Bond franchise over the years include Adele, Jack White, Alicia Keys, and more.