Billy Joel Announces New Single ‘Turn The Lights Back On’
UPDATE: 1/22/2024 3:30 PM ET — Billy Joel has confirmed he is releasing “Turn The Lights Back On,” his first new single in decades, on February 1. A brief preview can be heard below.
“Turn The Lights Back On” is available for pre-order in digital and physical formats at BillyJoel.com.
ORIGINAL STORY
Billy Joel is clearly teasing something pretty big, and some believe it could be new music.
To begin with, the cover photo on his Facebook page is black with the written script that reads, “Did I wait too long…”
Additionally, Stereogum points out the Piano Man’s TikTok shared a video back on Dec. 20. The clip is from an undisclosed show. Joel addresses the crowd saying, “I have good news, I have bad news, I’ll give you the bad news first. We don’t have anything new to play for you. The good news is you don’t have to sit through something you have no idea what it is! Although … we got a little something we’re working on you might hear some time.”
The clip is captioned, “Billy has some good news and bad news. Stay tuned for more! – Team Joel.”
Of course, if it is new music, that’s a pretty big deal for Joel. His last studio album was 2001’s Fantasies and Delusions, which was made up of all classical compositions. His last non-classical album, of course, was 1993’s River of Dreams.
If these hints are somehow not new music, then could it be a memoir? Could it be a biopic of some sort? Honestly, all of these options would be great, and we’re here for them. As with most new projects, we’ll all just have to wait and see.
The End of Joel’s Residency
Joel announced in June that he would be ending his Madison Square Garden residency in July 2024. The final show has been announced for July 25, 2024, which will be Joel’s 150th career performance at the legendary venue.
The remaining MSG residency shows are as follows:
-February 9, 2024
-March 28, 2024
-April 26, 2024
-May 9, 2024
-June 8, 2024
-July 25, 2024
Per Ultimate Classic Rock, Joel said during a June 2023 press conference about the end of his residency, “I’m kind of flabbergasted that it lasted as long as it did. My team tells me that we could continue to sell tickets, but ten years … 150 shows — all right already!”