"No Time To Die" by Billie Eilish // 7" vinyl picture disc single, 2021 Record Store Day demo + 5 Year Anniversary Song Review

- February 12, 2025

Billie Eilish's "No Time To Die" beautifully echoes the themes of the 2021 film of the same name, which served as the 25th iteration of James Bond franchise. Billie and Finneas took a very intimate approach to creating the song, while still incorporating the elements of grandeur that made the Bond themes of the past so memorable. They were approached to write the song early in their career, following the release of Billie's generation-defining debut album WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP WHERE DO WE GO? in early 2019. The release of that album was a major shift in the industry and completely shaped what the future of music was going to be.

At the time the time they wrote "No Time To Die", Billie was just 17 years old, making her the youngest artist in history to record a Bond theme song. "We wrote and recorded the Bond song on a tour bus in Texas," Finneas said in an interview with BBC Breakfast in 2020. "We did certain songs on the album in hotel rooms. You know, that's kind of always been our philosophy: not letting the place that we are get in the way of making great music." Billie later added in an interview with Vulture, "It was pitch black. No movement. I was just, literally, holding a mic." That approach to making music has always set them apart from so many other artists.

"I should have known I'd leave alone," Billie sings in the opening lines of the song, "Just goes to show that the blood you bleed is just the blood you owe". The song is haunting, suspenseful and perfectly depicts all of the emotions and vulnerability that is explored throughout the film. Her delicate vocal performance is understated and simmers just below the surface in a way that is so singular to Billie as a vocalist. Her soft, almost whispered, vocals create a haunting atmosphere and convey so much depth. "You were my life, but life is far away from fair," she sings, "Was I stupid to love you? Was I reckless to help? Was it obvious to everybody else?" The intensity continues to build throughout the song, which fully drives home all of the emotion and power "No Time To Die" holds.

The song was also co-produced by Stephen Lipson and features additional arrangements by the legendary Hans Zimmer, recorded with 70-piece orchestra in London at George Martin's AIR studios. "That’s the vibe. That's the everything. It's a perfect movie song: In its quietness, somehow, you have a huge landscape in front of you." Hans Zimmer said in an interview with Vulture. The orchestration is so lush and cinematic, it's so stunning.

Together they crafted the perfect contemporary Bond theme that simultaneously served as the end of an era, as it being Daniel Craig's last film as the titular character, as well as opening up the franchise for a new generation of fans to discover.

"We really wanted to make something that didn't feel like we were trying to copy other great songs, so it was really helpful to listen to these songs," Finneas added in the BBC Breakfast interview, wanting to write a Bond theme that was completely their own without any influence from the past classics. They have talked about wanting to write a song for a James Bond film for years, they would even make up songs for fun when they were younger that they thought could work in that theme, but never thought they'd get the chance to actually do it. Especially since this was still very early in her career, they were such a bold choice for this song and she executed it flawlessly.

Not only did Billie end up being the youngest person to ever write a song for the franchise, but she also went on to win countless awards and accolades for it as well. It was actually the most awarded Bond theme in the history of the series. Most notably, Billie won an Oscar for Best Original Song, making her the first person born in the 21st Century to win an Academy Award. That same year, they also won the Grammy for Best Song Recorded For Visual Media, a Golden Globe for Best Original Song and many more.

I often forget how amazing this song is and every time I return to it, I am reminded again of just how breathtaking it is. "No Time To Die" is also among the most important in Billie's discography because it really opened up a new side of her and Finneas' artistry by wanting to write more songs for film soundtracks. To be able to capture the story and the emotions of an entire film into one single original song is an impressive skill to have and Billie and Finneas have excelled at it time and time again. By this point, they had only ever released one other song for a soundtrack in 2019, an incredible deep cut called "WHEN I WAS OLDER" that was inspired by the film Roma. That gave a glimpse into all that they would go on to accomplish in that area of music the following year with "No Time To Die" and again in 2024 with the stunning "What Was I Made For?" on the Barbie soundtrack. Finneas has also composed music for several films and shows over the years as well - with I'm sure many more to come in the future from both of them.

All of the accolades and success of "No Time To Die" was soon matched, and in some ways surpassed, by the gorgeous Barbie theme, "What Was I Made For?". That song only further solidified their space in music history and is among the very best in her discography. With that song, Billie made history again with her Academy Award win, making her the youngest person to ever win two Oscars. She was only 22 at the time, and Finneas is the second youngest at 26 years old. The record was previously held by Luise Rainer, who won her second Best Actress Oscar at the age of 28 in 1938. They are among the group of only five people in history to win two Oscars under 30. "No Time To Die" and "What Was I Made For?" are the only two songs this decade to win both a Grammy and an Oscar as well, which is a very rare and impressive feat. The list of records they broke with both songs as well as the accolades they received for them, goes on and on, which is so deserved.

To celebrate the five year anniversary of "No Time To Die" being released, it felt like the perfect time to share some of the special vinyl copies I have of this song in my collection. The first is a webstore exclusive 7" picture disc released on October 5, 2020 on Global James Bond Day, celebrating 53 years of the franchise and the imminent release of the 25th Bond film. There were a couple of other variants available around this time too, but this was my personal favorite.

Side A features the standard version of the song, with a black and white photo of Billie from the single's cover. Side B has the logo of the film on it and features the instrumental version of the song on it. The instrumental version of the song fully highlights just how stunning the production of this song is, it's so breathtaking.

The second special edition vinyl I have in my collection for "No Time To Die" is from Record Store Day Black Friday 2021. Side A features the live version of the song at the BRIT Awards, which is among her best televised performances. Side B features the demo version of "No Time To Die", which is exclusive to this 7" single and has never been released prior. The demo is just as gorgeous as the standard, but it doesn't include the full production and all of the orchestral elements as the final version. Her vocals sound so gorgeous on this demo, it's so special to hear an early version of the recording in this way.

It is pressed on black vinyl and was limited to 15,000 copies. I love the dark grey and black design aesthetic they went with for this release, it really captures the mood of the song. It also features a stunning photo insert too, with high contrasting black and white stills from the song's music video on each side. It is so simplistic, depicting just Billie and a microphone against a black backdrop, exactly as she first recorded it.