In 2020, Billie Eilish became the second person after Christopher Cross in 1981 and the first woman to win the four general field Grammy categories — Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist — in one night. And she may not be done mimicking Cross yet. Thanks to her title track from “No Time to Die,” she could join him as the only people to have the Grammy single-night sweep and the Best Original Song Oscar on their resumes.
Cross had a banner year in 1981, first winning the Big Four Grammys that February following the massive success of his eponymous debut album and his iconic soft rock chart-topper “Sailing.” Later that year, he scored another Billboard No. 1 with “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do)”, the title song from “Arthur.” Co-written by Cross, Burt Bacharach, Carole Bayer Sager and Peter Allen, the tune won the Best Original Song Oscar in March 1982.
Several came close, but no one would dominate the Grammys like Cross did until Eilish nearly four decades later. Then 18, she became the youngest Album of the Year winner, for her studio debut “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?”, and the youngest Best New Artist champ since LeAnn Rimes, who was 14 when she triumphed in 1997. The inescapable “Bad Guy,” which Eilish co-wrote with her brother and main collaborator Finneas, was named Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Less than three weeks after her big Grammy night, her “No Time to Die” theme was released in February 2020 (and also days after Eilish performed at the Oscars) in anticipation of the Bond film’s original April 10 release date. And then we all know what happened.
SEE Will ‘No Time to Die’ be the third James Bond song in a row to win the Oscar?
Thanks to COVID-19, “No Time to Die” (the song) has take a circuitous path to the Oscars, even making a pit stop at the Grammys first. It won the Best Song Written for Visual Media Grammy in March 2021 — six months before the movie hit theaters (this category didn’t exist until 1988, so Cross never had a chance to win it for “Arthur’s Theme”). And now the 2-year-old song is on the cusp of becoming an Oscar winner. Even before the film’s delay, “No Time to Die,” written by Eilish and Finneas, was pegged as an early Oscar favorite — we just didn’t know it’d be a whole year early. It remains in the No. 1 spot in the odds and is lucky that “Encanto’s” unexpected smash “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” was not submitted by Disney. However, “Dos Oruguitas” from “Encanto” is in second place and the Lin-Manuel Miranda-penned track has been giving chase to “No Time to Die” on the vicarious strength of “Bruno.” Beyonce‘s “Be Alive” from “King Richard” is in third, followed by Van Morrison‘s “Down to Joy” from “Belfast,” and “Somehow You Do,” written by 13-time nominee Diane Warren, from “Four Good Days.”
If Eilish wins, not only would she follow in Cross’ elite footsteps, but “No Time to Die” would be the third straight Bond theme to claim the Oscar. Adele‘s “Skyfall” from the 2012 film of the same name was the first Bond song ever to prevail and Sam Smith‘s “Writing’s on the Wall” from 2015’s “Spectre” continued the winning streak. And, yes, Adele has also won the Big Four Grammy categories — but she didn’t do it in the same night.
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