Billy Joel Teases First New Song in Decades
Billy Joel surprised fans today by teasing something the Piano Man hasn’t done in decades-the release of a new single.
Joel posted a video teaser with the caption: “It’s time to TURN THE LIGHTS BACK ON. Brand new single coming February 1st. Pre-order here: https://billyjoel.lnk.to/TTLBO!” on Twitter this afternoon (Jan. 22).
The video, shot in silhouette, simply has Joel turning the pages of lyrics before gently laying his hands on the piano keys to play a few notes of the song.
Graphics across the video read, “The First New Single in Decades.”
Joel co-wrote the single with the song’s producer Freddy Wexler, who has worked on songs for artists spanning Ariana Grande and Selena Gomez to Kanye West and Lil Wayne. Additional writers for the song include Wayne Hector (Nicki Minaj, One Direction) and Arthur Bacon, according to Yahoo News.
Joel’s last publicly released album of original popular music was in 1993 with “River of Dreams.” His final overall album was “Fantasies & Delusions” in 2001. The 74-year-old last released “All My Life” as a one-off single in 2007.
In an interview with The Los Angeles Times, he said the main reason why he stopped producing music for decades he felt like it’s time for him to stop writing songs.
“I didn’t have the same motivation anymore. You need inspiration to create good new music, and if you don’t have it, don’t bother. Get off the treadmill, for Christ’s sake,” he said.
Joel’s next show at Madison Square Garden, set for Feb. 9, may be the first time he performs the new song for the audience. Last July, he announced that his residence at the famed venue would come to an end in July 2024 with his 100th performance in the series.
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