Sam Smith just made his first appearance on the Oscar stage with an unadorned, simple performance of "Writing's on the Wall," his entry into this year's Best Original Song contest. Smith and co-writer Jimmy Napes are nominated on behalf of Daniel Craig's final turn as James Bond, Spectre; they went on to win the Oscar later on in the show. The performance was introduced by Sarah Silverman, who joked about not seeing the movie and sleeping with James Bond. "James Bond: not a grower or a shower," said Silverman. "I don't want to say he's terrible at sex, but he did sleep with 55 women in 24 movies, and most of them tried to kill him afterwards."
"Writing's on the Wall" was criticized for being a little sleepy upon its release, and Smith appeared to struggle a little with his performance despite his voice's rich, booming quality. Nevertheless, the song's nomination is the cherry on top of a hyper-successful run. Smith shot to fame around the world on the strength of his debut 2014 LP In the Lonely Hour, and his Bond theme became his fourth solo #1 hit in the UK when it was released last September, joining songs like "Stay With Me" and "Lay Me Down" on top of the charts.
Watch Chris Rock insert diversity into Hollywood films
