'Spectre' Singer Betting Odds

So with 23 previous theme songs chronicled, who is currently the favorite rumored to be headlining the next 007 feature song?  As of the beginning of this year, “Stay with Me” crooner Sam Smith leads the pack at 4-1 odds.

 

The full roster of performing acts you can bet on include:

 

Sam Smith (pictured) 4-1

Ed Sheeran 6-1

Lana Del Ray 8-1

Rita Ora 8-1

One Direction 8-1

Ellie Goulding 10-1

Coldplay 10-1

Adele 12-1

Taylor Swift 12-1

Katy Perry 16-1

Thirty Seconds to Mars 16-1

Florence and the Machine 16-1

Lady Gaga 16-1

Tom Jones 16-1

 

As of a week ago The Daily Mirror was reporting that Adele was flown to Los Angeles to record potential new music for the film.  There are no sources backing this claim up, but if it is true, that puts Adele’s 12-1 odds at a really great bet.

 

Current James Bond actor Daniel Craig and 007 producers have made it very clear how happy they were with Adele’s contribution to the previous film, Skyfall, so bringing her back for another theme song isn’t completely out of left field.  If Adele were selected again, she would be only the second artist in history of the film series to record more than one song.  Shirley Bassey sang the theme songs for Goldfinger, Diamonds are Forever, and Moonraker.

The Skyfall Theme

Being the first Bond theme to win Best Song at the Golden Globes, Brit Awards, and Academy awards, “Skyfall” sounds exactly like what a 007 theme song would were it sung by Adele.  Adele and producer Paul Epworth wrote the musical number, with orchestration by J. A. C. Redford, featuring a 77-piece orchestra.  Additional accolades included Best Song at the Critics’ Choice Awards and Best Song Written for Visual Media at the Grammy Awards.

 

 

“Skyfall” was released at 12:07 a.m. on October 5, 2012 as part of the Global James Bond Day, which was a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the release of Dr. No.  The song was an immediate success, going to number one on the UK’s iTunes online store less than 10 hours after it was released.  It reached number two on the UK singles chart and eight on the Billboard Hot 100.  It has sold more than 1.6 million copies in the US and is the first Bond song to sell a million digital copies.  Among worldwide music charts, “Skyfall” peaked in top 10 among several countries, reaching the top spot in Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, South Korea, and Switzerland.

 

From initial contact to final product, it took Adele and Epworth 18 months to complete “Skyfall.”  Included in the music is an intentional reference to Monty Norman’s “James Bond Theme” after the first chorus.  Reviews were particularly positive, with many comparisons being made to the Shirley Bassey themes.  Along with Bassey’s influence, Epworth watched the first 13 Bond films for additional inspiration.

 

Adele Laurie Blue Adkins was born May 5, 1988, in Tottenham, north London, England.  At the age of 4, Adele took an interest in singing and cites the Spice Girls as major influences in her singing.  She later became interested in R&B artists, including Aaliyah, Destiny’s Child, and Mary J. Blige, and after accidentally stumbling upon albums for Etta James and Ella Fitzgerald, Adele started experimenting with her voice.  In May 2006, she graduated from the BRIT School for Performing Arts & Technology.

 

Due to a posting of her demo on MySpace in 2006, Adele was signed to a contract with XL Recordings, which led to her debut album, 19, being certified four times platinum in the UK and double platinum in the United States.  Her second single from the album, “Chasing Pavements,” reached number two on the UK chart and stayed there for four weeks.  Subsequently, she won Grammy Awards for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.  Other awards included an Urban Music Award for “Best Jazz Act,” a Q Awards nomination for Breakthrough Act, a Mercury Prize nomination, and a Music of Black Origin nomination in Best UK Female.

 

Following an appearance on Saturday Night Live in 2008, Adele’s popularity in America climbed sharply.  The day after her performance, 19 topped the iTunes charts and ranked at number five at Amazon.com and “Chasing Pavements” rose into the top 25.  The album jumped 35 spots to number 11 on the Billboard 200.

 

Her second album in 2011, 21, was a critical and commercial smash, surpassing the first.  The album went on be certified 16 times platinum in the UK and diamond in the United States.  Adele’s record held the top position longer than any album since 1985 and is the longest running number one album by a female solo artist in the history of the UK and U.S.  It won a record-tying six Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, two Brit Awards, and three American Music Awards.  In total, it has sold 30 million copies worldwide.  Adele became the first artist ever to sell three million albums in the UK in one calendar year.

 

While her first and second singles from 21, “Rolling in the Deep” and “Someone like You,” respectively, were in the top five of the UK singles chart, it made her the first living artist to achieve such a feat since the Beatles in 1964.  With the release of her third single, “Set Fire to the Rain,” Adele became the first artist ever to have an album hold the number-one position on the Billboard 200 concurrently with three number one singles.

 

Billboard named Adele Artist of the Year in 2011 and 2012.  In 2012, she was listed at number five on VH1’s 100 Greatest Women in Music and Time magazine named her one of the most influential people in the world.

 

Adele has one child, with charity entrepreneur Simon Konecki.

 

Paul Epworth, born July 25, 1974, is an English music producer, musician, and songwriter who has worked with artists that include Coldplay, Paul McCartney, Cee Lo Green, Florence and the Machine, Foster the People, John Legend, and Bruno Mars.

 

Along with his producing and songwriting, he is also known for remix work under the pseudonym Phones.  His remix catalogue of music includes selections from U2, P-Diddy, Nine Inch Nails, Interpol, and Coldplay.  Epworth briefly did work under the name Epic Man.

 

For Epworth’s work with Adele he has won four Grammies and an Academy Award.  His production on the number one debut album Made of Bricks by Kate Nash included a writing credit on the hit single “Foundations,” which earned him an Ivor Novello nomination.  Epworth is a member of the Music Producers Guild.  In 2009, Epworth won best newcomer at the inaugural Music Producers’ Guild Awards and the following year he won the Brit Award’s, Music Producers’ Guild Award’s, and Music Week’s Producer of the Year awards.

 

Jonathan Alfred Clawson Redford, born July 14, 1953, is an American composer, arranger, orchestrator, and conductor whose work spans across concert, chamber, and choral music, film, television, and theater scores, and recorded music.  Redford’s youth was influenced by arrange of music, from symphonic, nineteenth-century opera, and film composition to the Beatles, Frank Zappa, Joni Mitchell, and jazz artists.

 

As a teenager, Redford worked as a music arranger for rock ‘n’ roll bands and by his early 20 he was scoring documentaries and educational films.  After moving to Los Angeles in the mid-1970s, he started working in television, with early composing for Starsky & Hutch.  During a 1980s American Federation of Musicians strike, Redford used the time wisely, continuing his education with Hal Johnson, Frederick Zweig, and Walter Scharf.

 

Excluding the time he was on strike, Redford has been writing music at a steady pace since 1976, working with such artists as Steven Curtis Chapman, Bonnie Raitt, and Sting.  Artists that have performed his work include the Chicago Symphony, Israel Philharmonic, Kansas City Chorale, New York Philharmonic, and Utah Symphony.  His work has also been featured in programs at the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Walt Disney Concert Hall, St. Peter’s Basilica, and London’s Royal Albert Hall.

 

Redford has written scores for more than three dozen feature films and 500 episodes of television.  His music on St. Elsewhere earned him Emmy nominations in 1984 and 1985.

 

Redford has authored a book, titled Welcome All Wonders: A Composer’s Journey.

The Quantum of Solace Theme

Marking the first duet in James Bond music history, Jack White of the White Stripes and Alicia Keys collaborated with one another for “Another Way to Die” from Quantum of Solace.  White wrote and produced the track.

 

Initial reviews of the song were mixed, with many believing it to be a good song on its own but poorly done when considered a 007 theme.  According to the 2008 Popjustice Reader’s Poll, the song was voted as the second “Worst Single” of the year.  The US Billboard Hot 100 debut reached only 81, where it spent only one week on the chart.  However, the song did fare better overseas, where it charted inside the top ten in the UK, Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Norway, and Denmark, where it was certified gold.

 

In 2008, “Another Way to Die” won Best Original Song at the Satellite Awards and received a nomination for the same category at the Critics’ Choice Awards.  The music video was nominated at the Grammy Awards for Best Short Form Music Video.

 

Prior to White and Keys being officially announced as the performers, singers Leona Lewis and Amy Winehouse were rumored to be selected.  Winehouse had even recorded a demo track with producer Mark Ronson, but it was later explained that due to Winehouse’s well-publicized legal issues she was not prepared to record any music at that time.

 

Jack White, born July 9, 1975, as John Anthony Gillis, is the frontman for the White Stripes, but his collaborations with other artists and bands are varied, including Loretta Lynn, Bob Dylan, Beck, the Rolling Stones, and Danger Mouse.  He is the youngest of 10 children and was raised Catholic.  White began playing drums at the age of 6 and in elementary school was influenced by the Doors, Pink Floyd, and Led Zeppelin.  In his teenage years he began listening to blues and 1960s rock, which would become the influence that led to the White Stripes.

 

White’s first recorded album was with a family friend when the two were working together at upholstery.  White played guitar and the band was named the Upholsterers.  Eventually meeting Megan White, the two were wed and formed the White Stripes, although they did not present themselves as husband and wife, but as siblings.  The band released six albums and a live album, with their biggest hit being “Seven Nation Army,” which spent three weeks at number one on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and won a Grammy for Best Rock Song.  It has even become an international sporting and protest anthem.

 

Along with the White Stripes, White has also been a founding member of the Raconteurs and the Dead Weather.  Along with producing all of his own work through his label, Third Man Records, he has also produced for numerous artists.  His two solo albums have received eight Grammy nominations and both albums have reached the top spot on the Billboard charts.

 

White has won eight Grammy Awards.  In 2010, Rolling Stone ranked White at 70 on its list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time and David Fricke’s 2011 list ranked him at number 17.  White is a board member of the Library of Congress’ National Recording Preservation Foundation.

 

Along with his work on Quantum of Solace he has also contributed to Cold Mountain, where he was also featured in an acting role, The Great Gatsby, and It Might Get Loud, a documentary about the electric guitar.

 

White has married and divorced twice, once to bandmate Meg White, where he took her last name, and again to model Karen Elson.  White has a son and daughter with Elson.  He currently resides in Nashville, Tennessee.

 

Alicia Augello Cook, known professionally as Alicia Keys, was born January 25, 1981.  Keys studied music and dance at an early age, learning classical piano beginning at the age of 7.  She was enrolled in the Professional Performing Arts School at 12, where she majored in choir and began writing songs, and graduated at 16 as valedictorian.  Although accepted to Columbia University, Keys was unable to handle both recording music and attending classes and dropped out of college after a month.

 

It wasn’t until signing with her third record label that she released her debut album, Songs in a Minor, which sold more than 12 million copies worldwide and was certified six times platinum.  Her debut single Fallin’ spent six weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100.  Keys became the most successful new artist of the year and won five Grammy Awards for her work on the album, including Best New Artist and Song of the Year.  The achievement made her only the second American recording artist to win five Grammys in a single night.  Fallin’ was also nominated for Record of the Year.

 

Keys’ second and third albums were also successes, earning her another seven Grammies.  Her live album, Unplugged, debuted at number one in the United States, making her the first female to have an MTV Unplugged album debut at number one.  It was the highest debut since Nirvana’s release in 1994.

 

In total, Keys has released five studio and two live albums and sold more than 35 million albums and 30 million singles worldwide.  She has won 15 Grammy Awards, five American Music Awards, 17 Billboard Music Awards (including Latin and R&B/Hip-Hop ceremonies), seven BET Awards, 16 NAACP Image Awards, two People’s Choice Awards, and numerous other accolades.  Billboard magazine named her the top R&B artist of the 2000s and placed her number 10 on their list of the Top 50 R&B/Hip-Hop Artists of the Past 25 Years.  In 2010, VH1 included Keys on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time and two years later ranked her 14 on its 100 Greatest Women in Music.

 

Contributions to soundtracks other than Quantum of Solace include Men in Black, Shaft, Dr. Dolittle 2, Ali, Sex and the City 2, 12 Years a Slave, and The Amazing Spider-man 2.

 

Keys has appeared in television cameos on The Cosby Show, Charmed, and American Dreams, as well as film work in Smokin’ Aces, The Secret Life of Bees, and The Nanny Diaries.

 

Having given birth to her second child late last year with husband Swiss Beatz, a hip-hop recording artist and producer, Keys plans to release a series of children’s books.

The Casino Royale Theme

With the announcement of Daniel Craig as the new James Bond, the series went in a grittier, more realistic direction, mirroring the Jason Bourne films.  This rougher tone was also found in the music selections of theme song performers.  Craig's first outing in 2006 was Casino Royale and producers wanted a strong male singer to perform the theme.  They eventually selected Chris Cornell to work with composer David Arnold to create a song that could substitute for the "James Bond Theme" in order to reflect 007's inexperience in the movie.

 

 

Prior to the announcement that Cornell had been selected, other artists were rumored to be in the running, which included previous Bond theme performer Tina Turner and English musician Tony Christie.

 

"You Know My Name" was released early online and reviews were generally favorable, winning the Satellite Award and World Soundtrack Award.  This leaked version, which differed from the final product, peaked at number 20 on the UK Single Download Chart.  While the theme song didn't make it on the film's soundtrack, Cornell did include it on his second solo album.  Cornell and Arnold worked separately before combining their efforts into a single tune.  Arnold has stated "You Know My Name" has the "same genetic material as the Bond theme, but in a different order and in a different shape."

 

In the United States, the song peaked at 79 and 64 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard Pop 100, respectively.  The official release of the single peaked at number 7 in the UK and other top 10 positions were found in Denmark (2), Finland (3), Italy (4), Norway (5), Switzerland (10), and the Netherlands (10).  The single was nominated for a Grammy for Best Song Written for Motion Picture, Television, or Other Visual Media.

 

For a complete biography of David Arnold, go here.

 

Christopher John Boyle, better known by his stage name as Chris Cornell, was born July 20, 1964, and raised in Seattle, Washington.  He is currently the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for Soundgarden and former lead vocalist of Audioslave.  Cornell has five siblings, several of whom are musicians and singers.

 

Cornell, along with two former members of a Seattle-based cover band by the name of the Shemps, formed Soundgarden in 1984.  Upon signing with A&M Records in the late 80s, Soundgarden became the first grunge band to sign with a major label.  In 1996, following the release of the group's fifth studio album, Soundgarden disbanded, leading Cornell to have a short solo career before joining three of the four Rage Against the Machine band members to form Audioslave.  Beginning in 2001, Audioslave released three studio albums, but Cornell left in 2006 to begin a second stint of a solo career.  Cornell announced a Soundgarden reunion in 2010, which has led to a national tour and new album.

 

Along with his involvement in Soundgarden and Audioslave, Cornell has released three solo albums and was the founder of Temple of the Dog, a tribute band dedicated to his former roommate, Andrew Wood.  Collaborations with other artists include Pearl Jam, Alice Cooper, Linkin Park, Slash, David Cook, and Carlos Santana.

 

Cornell was ranked fourth among Hit Parader's Heavy Metal's All-time Top 100 Vocalists, ninth on Rolling Stone's Best Lead Singers of All Time, and 12th on MTV's 22 Greatest Voices in Music, and was voted Rock's Greatest Singer by readers of Guitar World.  Along with his awards for "You Know My Name" from Casino Royale, Cornell has received 14 Grammy nominations, winning two, an MTV Video Music Award, and a Golden Globe nomination.

 

Cornell has been married twice.  His first marriage, to Soundgarden and Alice in Chains manager Susan Silver, ended in divorce but produced a daughter.  He is currently married to Vicky Karayiannis and has two more children, a daughter and son.

87th Academy Award Nominees

The nominees have been announced.  We are only about five weeks away from the ceremony.  The level at which my cinema-love is rising cannot be charted during this time of award season.

 

While my wife and I host an Oscar-watching party every year, it isn't because I believe award shows validate or solidify what is and isn't the best movies from the year.  Obviously it is a matter of taste for everyone.  What is a great movie to one person may be uninteresting and bland to another.  What I like about award season is that it brings to the forefront a group of movies from the past year (most of which were released in the past three months) that are considered by those in the industry who actually know what is and isn't good work to be the best and we as moviegoers can then view films that might not otherwise have ever be seen or even heard of.

 

Birdman and The Grand Budapest Hotel lead with nine nominations, while The Imitation Game received eight nominations.  I haven't gone over each nominee and category yet, but the only major snub I have noticed so far is that The Lego Movie wasn't nominated for Best Animated Feature Film.  That is a shame because The Lego Movie is one of the most creative and heartfelt movies of the year, animated or live-action.  Although The Interview got much more publicity because of its politics, The Lego Movie had a much more important message about creativity and free speech.

 

The following are nominees in some of the categories.

 

 Best Motion Picture of the Year

American Sniper

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Boyhood

The Grand Budapest Hotel

The Imitation Game

Selma

The Theory of Everything

Whiplash

 

Achievement in Directing

Wes Anderson - The Grand Budapest Hotel

Alejandro G. Inarritu - Birdman

Richard Linklater - Boyhood

Bennett Miller - Foxcatcher

Morten Tyldum - The Imitation Game

 

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role

Steve Carell - Foxcatcher

Bradley Cooper - American Sniper

Benedict Cumberbatch - The Imitation Game

Michael Keaton - Birdman

Eddie Redmayne - The Theory of Everything

 

Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

Robert Duvall - The Judge

Ethan Hawke - Boyhood

Edward Norton - Birdman

Mark Ruffalo - Foxcatcher

J.K. Simmons - Whiplash

 

Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

Marion Cotillard - Two Days, One Night

Felicity Jones - The Theory of Everything

Julianne Moore - Still Alice

Rosamund Pike - Gone Girl

Reese Witherspoon - Wild

 

Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role

Patricia Arquette - Boyhood

Laura Dern - Wild

Keira Knightley - The Imitation Game

Emma Stone - Birdman

Meryl Streep - Into the Woods

 

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year

Big Hero 6

The Boxtrolls

How to Train Your Dragon 2

Song of the Sea

The Tale of the Princess Kaguya

 

Adapted Screenplay

American Sniper

The Imitation Game

Inherent Vice

The Theory of Everything

Whiplash

 

Original Screenplay

Birdman

Boyhood

Foxcatcher

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Nightcrawler