Billy Joel Will Release a New Song for the First Time in Nearly 20 Years

A portrait shot of Singer, songwriter, pianist, legend Billy Joel performing live at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California with black background

Photo: wirestock_creators/Depositphotos

There's new music from Billy Joel on the way. The 74-year-old singer-songwriter announced that he is releasing his first new song in nearly 20 years on February 1. The new single is titled “Turn the Lights Back On,” which Joel teased on social media with a short clip.

The video announcement sees Joel playing a chord progression on the piano, which seems to be housed in a lavish theater. The opening shot shows the lyrics to “Famous Last Words,” a 1993 song that hints at the musician's reluctance to continue writing. With this brand new single, Joel seems to fulfill the prophecy he wrote into the lyrics of that song—”There will be other words some other day / But that's the story of my life.”

In the last 30 years, Joel has only released two new songs, both in 2007—”All My Life,” a love song to his wife, which would reach the U.S. Billboard Hot Singles Sales, and “Christmas in Fallujah,” performed by Cass Dillon, for which the proceeds were donated to non-profit Homes for Our Troops.

While Joel may have stepped away from the recording studio, he continues to tour around the world and is scheduled to finish up a 10-year residency at Madison Square Garden in New York City later this year. Before that, it has been announced that Joel will perform at the 2024 Grammy Awards, taking place on February 4 in Los Angeles—which will likely give us the first live performance of his new single.

You can preorder “Turn the Lights Back On” on vinyl and pre-save it on Spotify and Apple Music by visiting Billy Joel's website.

Billy Joel has announced that he is releasing “Turn the Lights Back On,” his first new song in nearly 20 years on February 1.

It's time to TURN THE LIGHTS BACK ON. Brand new single coming February 1st. Pre-order here: https://t.co/Wtiyj8qJe3! pic.twitter.com/cN6BUh7gt5

— Billy Joel (@billyjoel) January 22, 2024