Billy Joel has released his first new recording since 2007. He shared a teaser just a week ago, and has officially released 'Turn the Lights Back On' today.
Listen to the track below:
In an interview with Herb Ivy at WBLM-FM, Joel didn't want to sing the song himself in the beginning. "We should send it to Adele," said co-writer and producer, Freddy Wexler.
The Piano Man was hellbent on not singing the track. Wexler noted that an Adele-sung version would have sounded incredible, but he was convinced that it had to be sung by Billy Joel.
“I did a performance of it, I came back into the control room and listened back. Now usually when I was recording, if I’d hear my recording back, I hated my voice," Joel said.
"So the first thought I would have, ‘Oh my God, Billy Joel singing it. I don't want to hear him.’ And I listened back and I didn't hate it. And that's maybe one of the first times that's ever happened to me. ‘That's actually not bad. I don't hate the singer.’ And it was a complete turnaround for me.”
