Ariana DeBose has opened up about singing her "dream" James Bond-style song for spy comedy Argylle.
The Oscar-winning actress and West Side Story star plays the role of Keira in Matthew Vaughn's star-studded action film. Ahead of the movie's cinema release, DeBose sat down with Digital Spy to look back on how the two songs she performs for Argylle came about.
"The film was in post and I had won my Oscar at that time, and Matthew [Vaughn] called and was like, 'I think we need to do something else, do you want to sing music?' and I was like, 'Yeah, why not!' So 'Electric Energy' with Boy George and 'Get Up and Start Again' came to life," she explained.
Related: Henry Cavill praises Dua Lipa's work on Argylle
Speaking about 'Get up and Start Again' in particular, DeBose said "it does feel like one of those end-credit Bond songs".
"I'm living my Adele, Celine Dion, Skyfall dreams. I just have always wanted to do something like that. I never thought I'd get the chance and I hope people enjoy it," she continued.
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Argylle had quite the long production as it was filmed in 2021 – right after DeBose, who's a Tony-nominated stage actress, gained mainstream recognition for the role of Anita in that year's big-screen version of West Side Story.
Related: Matthew Vaughn shuts down Taylor Swift Argylle rumours
DeBose, who recently called out a Critics Choice Awards joke questioning her singing skills, reminisced on auditioning for Argylle, calling Vaughn a "visionary".
"It really just brings to mind how grateful I am for Matthew Vaughn. He saw my tape, I auditioned, I think there's this big myth that I don't audition anymore, I still do. I got to audition for him and he saw it and he didn't really know about West Side Story, he just liked what I did," she said.
"Honestly, I hold on to that because I think once your life changes in this way it can be new and odd, it's an odd experience, but this is a man who didn't care what I had already done."
DeBose continued: "He just liked what was in front of them and he was like, 'Let's try something new. Let's go for it'. It's an honour to collaborate with someone who is a visionary.
"He's got the whole film up in his mind, from the soundtrack to the beginning frame to the end credits."
Argylle is released in UK cinemas on February 1 and in US cinemas on February 2. It will stream later globally on Apple TV+.
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Reporter, Digital Spy
Stefania is a freelance writer specialising in TV and movies. After graduating from City University, London, she covered LGBTQ+ news and pursued a career in entertainment journalism, with her work appearing in outlets including Little White Lies, The Skinny, Radio Times and Digital Spy.
Her beats are horror films and period dramas, especially if fronted by queer women. She can argue why Scream is the best slasher in four languages (and a half).
Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
