People love to speculate and talk about the odds when it comes to the James Bond films, to the point that British bookies are taking bets on everything from who will play the next Bond after Daniel Craig is done, to who sang the title theme for Sam Mendes' upcoming Bond film, Spectre. Neither of those questions have been answered just yet, but with the recent announcement from Mendes that Spectre's theme song is finished, betting has received a bump in advance of the official reveal of that song's artist and title.

I'm going to guess that most people don't place their hard-earned currency down on the table for your run-of-the-mill movie, but now that we're on Bond 24, I can understand why there's a bit more excitement surrounding it. After all, the movie's theme has become every bit as ingrained in Bond culture as has the person playing 007 himself, the Bond Girls, and the series' villains. And it's not just chump change that's up for grabs; Adele's title theme for Skyfall won an Oscar and a Golden Globe, the first ever award for a Bond theme.

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As for the frontrunners for Spectre's theme, THR reports the following odds:

  • Sam Smith (2/5) - Fresh off of his four Grammy Award wins in February, and British Breakthrough Act award at the Brit Awards, Smith is clearly the frontrunner despite his quotes to the contrary saying rumors of his involvement with Spectre were "definitely not true."
  • Ed Sheeran (8/1) - Sheeran also denied any connection with the Bond song, joking that he'd consider it, but "maybe in ten years time when [his] balls drop.” Despite the fact that a British solo male vocalist hasn't performed a Bond theme since Tom Jones in 1965's Thunderball, there are currently two at the top of the betting pool.
  • Ellie Goulding (10/1) - Goulding has found herself singing in the spotlight for such events as Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding reception (and first dance), the Nobel Peace Prize Concert, and at the White House Christmas event. Add to this the fact that Sheeran mentioned Goulding's name when pressed about the Bond theme and that she tweeted "live and let die", and you start to see why Goulding is third in line.
  • Adele (12/1) - Only Shirley Bassey performed multiple Bond themes (Goldfinger, Diamonds are Forever, Moonraker) so it would be unusual but not unheard of for Adele to give a repeat performance. Thomas Newman composed the score for Skyfall and has returned to do the same for Spectre, so perhaps the latest film will feature a reunion between the two.

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    Image via Sony Pictures and MGM
    Lana Del Rey (14/1) - Now we start to get into the wishlist portion of the betting. Del Rey could restore Americans to the voice behind the Bond mic (the seven previous Bond movies before Skyfall all had American vocalists perform the theme), but she's likely been busy recording her third studio album, Honeymoon, due out this fall.
  • Lorde (16/1) - The young superstar's already curating the soundtrack for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2, so this one might be a stretch, but stranger things have happened.
  • Noel Gallagher (25/1) - The former "Oasis" singer actually took the odds into his own hands when he volunteered himself to sing the Spectre theme, though he said he probably wouldn't make it because "you have to be someone in America.” We'll find out soon enough if Gallagher was putting up a smokescreen for his involvement, or just blowing smoke.

My advice? Look to see if Mendes and his friends are making any big bets at the bookies; I have a feeling they might know some insider information.

Spectre opens November 6th.

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Image via Sony Pictures and MGM