海角大神

After the blockbuster success of Adele's 2012 single "Skyfall," the main theme for the "James Bond" film of the same name, some are wondering if pop sensation Sam Smith has what it takes to match her accomplishment. Tuesday, it was announced that the English singer will perform the theme for the upcoming Bond movie "SPECTRE."

Smith, who has released such songs as 鈥淪tay With Me鈥� and 鈥淟ay Me Down,鈥� the song 鈥淲riting鈥檚 On The Wall鈥� for the new Bond movie, which is set to be released this November. Smith and Jimmy Napes wrote the song which will be released on Sept. 25, ahead of the film.

Napes co-wrote such songs as 鈥淪tay With Me鈥� and 鈥淟ay Me Down鈥� with Smith and has also worked on songs with other artists, including Mary J. Blige. Smith has won various Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year and Best New Artist.聽

The new movie features the return of actor Daniel Craig as Bond and also reportedly stars Christoph Waltz, L茅a Seydoux, and Dave Bautista. Actors Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, and Ben Whishaw will return as well.聽

The upcoming release of 鈥淪PECTRE鈥� follows the huge success of the last Bond outing, 2012鈥檚 鈥淪kyfall,鈥� which, like 鈥淪PECTRE,鈥� was directed by Sam Mendes. 鈥淪kyfall鈥� became the Bond movie worldwide, without calculating inflation. Singer Adele sang the title song which became a huge hit, debuting at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US and debuting at No. 4 on the singles chart in Britain. It won an Oscar for best original song (the only song from a Bond movie to do so) and a Grammy award for best song written for visual media.

Songs accompanying James Bond films have had a mixed chart performance since the 1960s. While some names like those of Matt Monro (who did the song for 鈥淔rom Russia With Love鈥�) or singer Lulu (who performed the song for 鈥淭he Man with the Golden Gun鈥�) may not be familiar to casual fans today, they were chosen for their popularity at the time.聽

The styles of Bond songs have also changed as musical tastes have changed. Recent songs like 鈥淵ou Know My Name鈥� (which accompanied the film "Casino Royale") and 鈥淎nother Way to Die鈥� (which accompanied "Quantum of Solace"), which were performed by rock acts including Chris Cornell of the band Soundgarden and Jack White of the White Stripes, had a strong rock flavor. In contrast, Adele鈥檚 鈥淪kyfall鈥� was a throwback to the style of classic Bond songs like 鈥淕oldfinger.鈥澛�

鈥淪kyfall鈥� also raised the bar for future Bond songs, charting much higher than some other recent recordings.

When critics select the best tracks released with James Bond movies, the songs usually chosen are those from the 1960s and 1970s, including 鈥淕oldfinger鈥� (1964), 鈥淒iamonds Are Forever鈥� (1971), 鈥淣obody Does It Better鈥� (1977), and 鈥淟ive and Let Die鈥� (1973). After middling receptions for such other recent tracks as 鈥淒ie Another Day鈥� and 鈥淭omorrow Never Dies,鈥� 鈥淪kyfall鈥� vaulted to the top of lists of best Bond songs ever.