Adele wins the Best Original Song Oscar for 'Skyfall' at the Academy Awards

Adele performing at the 85th annual Academy Awards

Credit: AP Photo

Pop music sensation can add an Oscar to the countless American Music Awards, Billboard Awards and Grammys she's amassed to date. The "Rolling in the Deep" vocalist won Best Original Song at the Academy Awards this evening for her title track to the James Bond film "Skyfall."

"I'd like to thank [co-nominee] Paul Epworth for believing in me all the time," Adele said from the stage of the Dolby Theatre with tears in her eyes.

This marks the first time in the Academy's history that a Bond theme song has won the Oscar. In previous years, the title tracks from 1974's "Live and Let Die" and 1981's "For Your Eyes Only" and "Nobody Does It Better" from 1977's "The Spy Who Loved Me" were nominated in the category.

"For a piece of music to be judged in context with a movie, it’s judged in an obviously different context," the Epworth, told HitFix in December. "I felt like the piece of music should be a moment of the moment. It’s a mark of quality of that work.”

The 85th Academy Awards also put on a James Bond tribute planned on the occasion of the franchise's 50th anniversary. The event featured a surprise appearance by "Goldfinger" vocalist Shirley Bassey. This in addition to a musicals tribute featuring the casts of "Chicago," "Dreamgirls" and "Les Misérables." Mychael Danna, meanwhile, won the Oscar for Best Original Score for "Life of Pi."

It has been rumored that tonight's Oscars ceremony may be the only time that Adele performs "Skyfall" live.

"Skyfall" grossed over $1 billion worldwide, becoming Sony's biggest film success to date. It was nominated for four other Oscars and split the win for Best Sound Editing with "Zero Dark Thirty."

Kristopher Tapley
Editor-at-Large

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Kristopher Tapley has covered the film awards landscape for over a decade. He founded In Contention in 2005. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Times of London and Variety. He begs you not to take any of this too seriously.