18 November marked 20 years since the premiere of 'Die Another Day', the 20th Eon produced James Bond film. MGM wanted a high-profile artist to sing the theme song to celebrate the franchise's 40th anniversary and a deal with Madonna was soon revealed. Beginning as a demo written by Madonna and Mirwais for the 'American Life' album sessions, the song was developed to blend with traditional James Bond music and lyrically reference the film's storyline. 'Die Another Day' is an electroclash track that uses live strings that were later chopped to give a stuttering effect; this style choice, along with Madonna's electronically edited vocals, were criticised by a lot of critics who deemed the song to be "anti-Bond", however others praised the song for its innovation. It nevertheless became a big hit across the world, reaching #1 in Canada, Italy, Portugal and Spain, #3 in the UK and #8 in the US, as well as picking up nominations for Best Original Song at the Golden Globes and Best Dance Recording at the Grammys.

 

The music video was directed by Swedish directing team Traktor and sees Madonna in a torture sequence similar to the one seen in the film's title-sequence. The video also depicts Madonna dueling with herself in a room that features references to previous Bond films. The total cost of the video, totalling at $6.1m, made it the second most expensive ever, after Michael and Janet Jackson's 'Scream'. It picked up a nomination for Best Video from a Film at the 2003 MTV VMAs but lost to Eminem's 'Lose Yourself'.

 

20 years on, what are your thoughts and memories of 'Die Another Day'?

 

 

It's such a amazing video and song. I really love it.

Meh

It certainly wasn't what people were expecting as Madonna's Bond theme... but way to go, she did it her way.

 

Honestly didn't think much of it when I first heard it, but I like it now and the remix on Finally Enough Love takes it up a level for me.

 

The video is brilliant.

I unashamedly love this. It's totally bonkers and a genius take on a Bond theme tune. Dare I say it's my favourite Bond song too?

It's my favourite Bond theme too. I really don't understand why everyone hates it so much???? LMAO.

 

I LOOOOOVE this!

The video is insanely good and the song is good too. I was at college when this was released and lots of non m fans liked it!

I like this too! Although it is a long way from beating Nobody Does It Better to the title of my favourite Bond theme

I liked it tbh. It’s a better lead single than American life.

I've always been a fan of this, I think it's a great update on the classic Bond sound and I'm glad it's become more appreciated as the years have gone on. I love the chopped-up strings, I think the franticness of the song reflects the torture scene of the opening titles, and there's a 'icy' vibe about it which again suits the film well. The video is a brilliant tribute to Bond too.

 

Love the Re-invention Tour performance, that whole segment is great in fact, and the Sticky & Sweet interlude backdrop would have been a perfect video for 'Give It 2 Me' (I wish they followed through with the boxing theme instead of the whole candy thing but that's a topic for die another day!)

 

Oh and shout out to both the Deepsky and Dirty Vegas remixes!