Billie Eilish and her brother, Finneas O’Connell, won the Best Original Song Academy Award for “No Time to Die,” the ballad they wrote for the new James Bond movie. Billie and Finneas also performed the song at the ceremony.
This award makes Eilish, 20, the second youngest winner in this category after Markéta Irglová, who won for her song “Falling Slowly” in 2007’s film “Once,” when she was 19.
“No Time to Die” was written back in 2019 and released in February 2020, over one year earlier than the film which was postponed many times during the Covid-19 pandemic. The 4-minute song is a ballad about betrayal and heartbreak that Billie and Finneas wrote after reading the first 20 pages of the movie script.
The tune had already gathered a Grammy, Golden Globe, and a Critics Choice Award. Its Grammy award a year ago was the first time a movie song won prior to the release of the film itself. Billie Eilish and her brother have since co-written new songs for this year’s Pixar movie “Turning Red.”
For the 007 franchise, this is the third consecutive Academy Award in this category: Adele won in 2012 for “Skyfall” and Sam Smith won the statuette three years later for “Writing’s on the Wall,” the original song of “Spectre.”
The film “No Time to Die” was also nominated for Best Visual Effects and Best Sound Awards, however, the Original Song Award was the only one they received, losing the others to Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune.”
When Billie and Finneas learned of the nomination they said that it was a lifelong dream to write a Bond theme, and one they never thought would ever come true. So when the siblings received the award they were visibly exhilarated.
As she accepted the Oscar, Eilish exclaimed, “Oh my gosh, this is so unbelievable, I could scream.” Finneas also thanked their mom and dad, “We love you as parents and as real people, too,” he said.
