The James Bond musical tribute at this Sunday’s Oscars certainly felt like a bit of an oddity. Included, ostensibly, to celebrate the fact that the Academy’s board of governors honoured 007 producers Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli with The Irving G Thalberg Memorial Award in recognition of their contribution to cinema late last year (nope, us neither), it featured a dance segment from Margaret Qualley followed by performances from Lisa, Doja Cat and Raye.
Though by no means a disaster, the substantial segment has led to a certain amount of bemusement on social media. Did it end with a big reveal of the next James Bond? It did not. Did we get an inkling of when a new Bond movie might arrive or what it will be called? No.
Which certainly isn’t to belittle the talent involved… though it may or may not be a coincidence that Doja Cat and Raye both appear on Blackpink star Lisa’s new single Born Again, of which there was no mention.
After Margaret Qualley had done her bit - pretty skillfully, it should be said - Lisa was the first singer to take to the stage, giving us a synth pad-propelled, reharmonised take on Wings’ Live and Let Die, from 1973. “First time at the Oscars and it was such an incredible experience,” she said on Instagram. “I was so honoured to be performing alongside so many empowering artists.”
Then came Doja Cat, channelling 1971 era Shirely Bassey on Diamonds are Forever. Reflecting on her performance - and the mixed reception to the whole shebang - she said on Instagram: “I never get to sing like that and what I did was brave and scary as fuck for me. I know a lot of people didn’t like it but a lot of people did and I feel good that I pushed myself. The song is a classic and I put a lot of work into it but the nerves got to me and a bitch hit some flats. I can’t wait to do something like that again. What a blessing that was. I feel amazing about the whole thing. Bye.”
We think she’s probably being overly-critical - her voice sounded pretty strong to us - but we’re guessing it’s hard not to ruminate on what you could have done better when it feels like everyone with a Twitter account is telling you what went wrong.
The mini-show was closed by Raye, who had the unenviable task of trying to live up to Adele’s performance on her 2012 hit, Skyfall. The star has frequently been tipped as a future Bond theme artist, so in some ways, this felt like a very public - and presumably terrifying - audition.
“Was sooo nervous to sing this song because no one can sing Adele like Adele, but I tried my very best,” admitted Raye on Instagram. “I am just so grateful to the Oscars Academy for this invitation to sing on this stage.”
And that was that, leaving everyone left wondering not so much what it was they’d just watched, but why they were watching it then and there. If nothing else, it felt like a bookend on Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli’s creative control of the Bond franchise, which has now been handed over (for better or worse) to Amazon. Let’s hope it can deliver (sorry).
Those in the US can watch the whole James Bond theme performance on YouTube, while in the UK it's available on ITVX.
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