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Sam Smith tapped to sing theme song to James Bond film 'Spectre'

The crooner has been tapped to take over the tradition of great singers tackling the franchise's title track.
/ Source: TODAY

Sam Smith will be the voice of "Spectre," the crooner announced on Instagram Tuesday morning.

Or rather, he'll be singing "Writing's on the Wall," the theme song to the new James Bond movie of that name — the first male British solo artist to tackle the tune since 1965.

"This is one of the highlights of my career," he wrote in the Instagram caption that accompanied his photo. "I am honoured to finally announce that I will be singing the next Bond theme song. I am so excited to be part of this iconic British legacy and join an incredible line up of some of my biggest musical inspirations. I hope you all enjoy the song as much as I enjoyed making it."

MORE: Sam Smith opens up about recovery from vocal cord injury

It's hard to imagine that he's risen to such heights in such a short while; as Smith told TODAY's Natalie Morales Tuesday, "It feels very weird to me, to be able to do it. It's been a dream of mine for a long, long time."

He couldn't offer many details about how it fits in the film, but said, "I just wanted to write a love song."

Smith had teased that he'd be having a "Spectre" association over the weekend with another, more mysterious Instagram picture in which he sported a ring featuring the octopus logo of the organization that serves as Bond's nemesis in the film.

He told BBC.com that "it's the quickest I've ever written a song — it took 20 minutes." (Smith cowrote the tune with his writing partner Jimmy Naples).

Bond themes have been sung by musicians and bands ranging from Shirley Bassey to Paul McCartney (with Wings) to Duran Duran. But it wasn't until "Skyfall," sung by Adele in 2012, that the movie series earned a best song Oscar.

"Writing's on the Wall" is available for pre-order on Smith's website and on iTunes tonight, starting at midnight. The tune will be officially released Sept. 25.

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