In many ways, honey-voiced chanteur Sam Smith is the male answer to Adele -- which is why fans have been speculating for months that he could be the voice behind the next James Bond theme song.
That theory got dealt a blow in July, though, when the soulful Grammy winner told UK radio station Capital FM that he was "definitely not" performing the track -- and suggested that Ellie Goulding had gotten the gig instead.
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And so the London oddsmakers moved on, pitting their hopes on Goulding and Ed Sheeran and Radiohead and, er, Adele. Smith was out of the running. The game was afoot.
Until Monday afternoon.
pic.twitter.com/0anlLMQSWZ— SAM SMITH (@samsmithworld) September 7, 2015
In the photo above, a hand is wearing a ring engraved with a tiny octopus logo -- the same symbol classically used by the dastardly crime ring SPECTRE, which lends its name to the next Bond flick. Variations on the evil sea beast have also made appearances in promotional materials for the film.
So one of two things is happening here.
Smith was trying to throw us off the scent before, when he swore up and down that we wouldn't hear him doing his best Shirley Bassey impression.
He's a cheeky bloke with a well-developed sense of humor, and he tweeted out the ring pic just to mess with us.
One of those two things is true. Definitely. Maybe.
Something we do know for certain: Spectre hits theaters Nov. 6.