(Reuters) – Grammy-winning British singer Adele is adding Bond girl to her superstar resume by signing on to write and sing the theme of the latest James Bond film “Skyfall” – her first song to be released since her best-selling heartbreak album “21” – Columbia Records said in a statement on Monday.
Adele, 24, who swept the Grammy Awards earlier this year with accolades in six categories, will release the song on Friday on her official website, to coincide with the Bond film franchise’s 50th anniversary and Global James Bond Day.
The sultry singer wrote “Skyfall” with long-time collaborator Paul Epworth. She recorded it at London’s Abbey Road Studios with a 77-piece orchestra. Adele said in a statement that she was persuaded to do the song after she “fell in love with the script.”
“I was a little hesitant at first to be involved with the theme song for ‘Skyfall.’ There’s a lot of instant spotlight and pressure when it comes to a Bond song,” the singer said.
“When we recorded the strings, it was one of the proudest moments of my life. I’ll be backcombing my hair when I’m 60, telling people I was a Bond girl back in the day, I’m sure.”
The James Bond title songs have become a signature of the films, featuring suave British agent 007 holding a gun in a pose that has become iconic.
Singers who have performed the title songs over the past five decades include Shirley Bassey in 1971’s “Diamonds Are Forever” and 1979’s “Moonraker,” Paul McCartney on 1973’s “Live and Let Die,” and more recently, Madonna on 2002’s “Die Another Day.” Jack White and Alicia Keys performed “Another Way To Die” from 2008’s “Quantum of Solace.”
“Skyfall,” the 23rd film in the Bond franchise and the third film with actor Daniel Craig in the lead role, will see the womanizing rogue super-spy take on another mission to save the world. The film will be released in Britain and most European nations on October 26. It arrives in U.S. movie theaters on November 9.
(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy in Los Angeles; Editing by Jill Serjeant and Jan Paschal)