Columbia Records has announced the release of Billy Joel’s first new single in decades, “Turn The Lights Back On,” arriving on Thursday February 1. The song was produced by Grammy-nominated songwriter and producer Freddy Wexler and written by Wexler, Arthur Bacon, Wayne Hector, and Joel.
The six-time Grammy Award-winning Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and Kennedy Center honoree initially alluded to the song on TikTok, following his debut on the platform. Now, he delivers a classic Billy Joel-style tune, embodying the hallmarks of his signature sound and ushering in the next chapter of his story. In the lyrics, he asks, “Did I wait too long… to turn the lights back on?”
Billy Joel remains one of the most influential artists of all time and a generational storyteller without comparison. Beyond selling over 160 million albums around the world and emerging as “the fourth-best-selling solo artist in the United states,” he has garnered six Grammy Awards out of 23 nominations. Among dozens of accolades, he earned induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1992, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999, and the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2006. Moreover, he became the MusiCares “Person of the Year” in 2002 and received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2013. Making history, his double-diamond Greatest Hits – Volume I & Volume II stands out as “the sixth most-certified album of all time.” Hits such as “Piano Man,” “Uptown Girl,” and “We Didn’t Start The Fire” have resounded through eras, even enshrining him among the Top Artists on Spotify. Upon his 100th sold-out performance at Madison Square Garden, the state of New York (his home) declared July 18 “Billy Joel Day.”
Joel has also been added to the lineup of performers on the 2024 Grammy Awards, set for February 4 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
