Lana Del Rey says her James Bond theme song was turned down

Lana Del Rey is shaking, not stirring the pot when it comes to James Bond theme tunes. 

While attending the Ivor Novello Awards in London on Thursday, the “Summertime Sadness” singer was asked by the BBC if she’d ever considered writing a title track for Agent 007. As it turns out, she has once before — and it was rejected by the film’s producers. 

“I mean, how has that not happened yet?” Del Rey asked, before she briefly sang the chorus to her song “24” from her 2015 album, Honeymoon. She then added, “I wrote that for them.” 

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Given the album’s release date, “24” would’ve been in the running to become the title track for Daniel Craig’s fourth Bond film, Spectre. In the end, it was Sam Smith’s song “Writing’s On the Wall” that was selected for the film, and later won them the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2016. 

Del Rey seemingly confirmed that the song was in contention for Spectre when she took a moment to poke fun at the “Unholy” singer who actually got the gig. “But Sam, you did a wonderful job, really,” she teased. “No, I’m just kidding!”

In all honesty, the Grammy-nominated singer isn’t too certain her songs will ever appear as a theme tune for a future Bond installment. “One day, maybe… Probably not,” she confessed. “But I’m going to continue to do my little Nancy Sinatra thing every now and then and just pretend it’s the title track.”

Del Rey’s comments about being turned down for a Bond film come over nine years after she previously told NME that she “wasn’t asked” to write a song for Spectre. “I would’ve done it if I was asked but I wasn’t asked,” she said. “I love all of the Bond music that’s been put out over the years and I love soundtracks in general.”

However, at the time, she noted that there were “a couple of songs on this record that have a Bond feel” to them, specifically referencing both “24” and “Swan Song.” (Representatives for Del Rey did not immediately respond to Entertainment Weekly‘s request for clarification.)

Regardless, Del Rey may still have another chance at writing a Bond theme song in the future, as it’s been rumored that Aaron Taylor-Johnson will be taking over the role as 007 following Daniel Craig’s departure from the series in 2021.