Songfacts®:

• Lana Del Rey's "24" is a cinematic blend of orchestral pop and classic noir that's become her trademark. The title refers to the number of hours in a day, which Del Rey mourns as she puts time into a troublesome lover.
• Co-written and co-produced with her longtime collaborator Rick Nowels, "24" is a testament to their creative partnership. Nowels, who recognized Lana's talent on early YouTube demos, was her musical confidante between 2011 and 2017. After penning their first song, the unreleased "TV in Black & White," they crafted smashes like "Summertime Sadness" (their second co-write), "Young And Beautiful" and "West Coast."
• Nowels speaks highly of Lana's songwriting abilities. "She is a one-of-a-kind artist and keeps growing," he gushed in a Songwriter Universe interview. "She's such a natural writer and singer and has a real vision for who she is and what she wants to put out into the world."
• While the partnership between Del Rey and Nowels has cooled since 2017's Lust for Life, "24" holds a special place in their history. Lana revealed at the 2024 Ivor Novello Awards, it was originally written for a Bond film, most likely 2015's Spectre. Though ultimately passed over in favor of Sam Smith's Oscar-winning "Writing's On The Wall," the pop star took it in stride.
  
  "Sam, you did a wonderful job," she laughed, before hinting at a future shot at the coveted title track. "One day, maybe. But I'm going to continue to do my little Nancy Sinatra thing every now and then and just pretend it's the title track."
• Radiohead found themselves in the same boat as Lana Del Rey. Their contender, a song simply titled "Spectre," also failed to win over the Bond producers.