Sam Smith is stirred, not shaken, by offer to sing James Bond theme

Sam Smith will sing the theme song for the next installment in the James Bond movie franchise, producers announced Tuesday.

The young British crooner, who won multiple Grammy Awards in February for his hyper-sensitive retro-soul sound, will lend his voice to “Spectre,” due to hit American theaters Nov. 6. The tune, titled “Writing’s on the Wall,” was co-written by Smith and Jimmy Napes, with whom Smith collaborated for several tunes on his hit 2014 debut, “In the Lonely Hour.”

In a statement, Smith called his involvement in the Bond film “one of the highlights of my career” and said, “I am so excited to be a part of this iconic British legacy and join an incredible lineup of some of my biggest musical inspirations.”

Recent singers who’ve performed Bond themes include Madonna, Chris Cornell and the duo of Jack White and Alicia Keys, as well as Adele, to whom Smith has often been compared. The statement said “Writing’s on the Wall,” set for release on Sept. 25, is the first Bond theme recorded by a British male solo artist since 1965, when Tom Jones sang “Thunderball.”

“Sam and Jimmy have written the most inspirational song for ‘Spectre,’” said the movie’s producers, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, in the statement, “and with Sam’s extraordinary vocal performance, ‘Writing’s on the Wall’ will surely be considered one of the greatest Bond songs of all time.”

Twitter: @mikaelwood