Cornell declared he liked the Bond movies, particularly the ones with Sean Connery, but that he «wasn’t really a big fan of the last several movies». Cornell thought it was a strange offer, considering that he is American, and imagined that he would perform a secondary song in the film instead of the main theme.
Lia Vollack, Sony Pictures’s President of Music, called Chris Cornell inviting him to make a song for the new Bond movie, which would “reflect the dramatic new direction of James Bond”, with a “strong male singer”.