Billy Joel’s first new song in decades is finally here and the Piano Man does not disappoint!
“Turn the Lights Back On” is out now… it’s new, but it’s still somehow classic Billy Joel, with his signature sound. Take a listen!
Joel co-wrote the song with Freddy Wexler, who has a pretty cool story of coming up in the industry writing for Justin Bieber, Post Malone, and the Jonas Brothers, among others. Wexler posted a picture on his Instagram with Joel, captioning “Honored doesn’t start to cover it.”
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For Joel, “Turn the Lights Back On” may be a metaphor for his songwriting. His last album was “River of Dreams” in 1993, and his last new singles were in 2007, “All My Life” and “Christmas in Fallujah.” He’s still been touring and performing his residency at Madison Square Garden… but releasing new music has not been a focus.
Joel told Rolling Stone in 2019 he just hasn’t felt compelled to release anything new. “I have a lot of music that no one’s ever heard and no one may ever hear if I don’t decide to do something with it. It’s really about the creative process that’s important to me, not about having records on the charts or selling a lot of recordings. I’m learning all the time, and you never stop learning. That’s what’s good about the writing process. You always learn something new whenever you create,” Joel said.
Something obviously clicked and inspired him to release “Turns the Lights Back On,” and we’re so glad it did!
Joel will perform the song on the Grammy Awards this Sunday, February 4, on CBS and Paramount+.
