Billy Joel announces new song 'Turn the Lights Back On'

Billy Joel returns with his first new song in 17 years!

Although Joel, 74, plans to end his longtime monthly residency at New York City's Madison Square Garden, the curtain isn't closing on his career just yet. On Monday, January 22, Joel announced that he will soon end his nearly two-decade hiatus from releasing new music with “Turn The Lights Back On.” The song, set for release on February 1, is a “classic Billy Joel-style tune that embodies the hallmarks of his signature sound and heralds the next chapter of his story,” according to a press release.

The song's title is part of the lyrics, in which Joel asks, “Did I wait too long…to turn the lights back on?”

Joel's latest album was produced by the Grammy-nominated songwriter and producer Freddy Wexlerfor whom it is written Ariana Grande And Justin Bieber (“Stuck with You”), Selena Gomez (“To delay”), Pink (“My attic”), Demi Lovato (“Without love”) and more. Wexler and Joel co-wrote 'Turn The Lights Back On' Arthur Bacon And Wayne Hector. The song comes with a lyric video shared via Joel's official YouTube channel, and a limited edition 7-inch vinyl record of the song is also available for purchase.

Joel previously hinted that something new was coming in December 2023, sharing a snippet via TikTok of stage talk during one of his concerts. “I have good news and bad news,” he said as he sat at the piano. 'I'll tell you the bad news first. We have nothing new to play for you. The good news is that you don't have to endure something that you have no idea what it is. Although, we have something we're working on, you might hear about it at some point.

Although Joel has remained active on stage, he is a ghost in the recording studio. He was released in 2001 Fantasies and delusions, which was apparently his last album. It was also his only LP with classical compositions performed by his friend and fellow pianist Richard Hyung Ki Joo. Before that, Joel's last major album was 1993 River of dreams.

In 2007, Joel released 'All My Life', a standalone song written for his then wife, Katie Lee, as an anniversary gift. That same year, Joel released “Christmas in Fallujah,” a rock song featuring Cass Dillion on song.

Joel told it Rolling stone in 2019 that he had not stopped writing music completely. “I just don't take it,” he said, “and [the music is] not in song form. It's a completely different kind of music. It is purely for my own edification. I don't feel obligated to record it. I don't feel obligated to make myself relevant. Like I said, I was living the rock & roll life, and I don't write that anymore.

In June 2023, Joel announced that he would be ending his recurring concert series at Madison Square Garden, which began in January 2014. His long-running residency will officially conclude in July 2024 with his 150th lifetime performance at the venue. A representative for Joel confirmed this The guard at the time, even though the MSG residency was coming to an end, the “Piano Man” was not retiring.