Listen to Billy Joel’s New Song, ‘Turn the Lights Back On’

Billy Joel has released his first new song in nearly two decades, “Turn the Lights Back On.”

“I’m late but I’m here right now,” Joel sings on the track, which swells to a dramatic ending complete with a string section, “though I used to be romantic, I forgot somehow.”

You can listen to the song, which comes with a music video, below.

Joel’s Most Recent Music

The last time Joel released new music was in 2007 when he put out two non-album singles, “All My Life” and “Christmas in Fallujah.” Prior to that, his final studio album arrived in 2001, Fantasies & Delusions, a classical LP. In the years that have followed, Joel has been frank about his decision to steer clear of writing new songs.

“You have to have a certain amount of ambition to want to do all that,” he told The New Yorker in 2014. “And I look back at the guy who was the recording artist, this Billy Joel guy, and I think, who the fuck was that guy? He was very ambitious, very driven, and I don’t feel like that anymore.”

READ MORE: Top 20 Billy Joel Songs

“You can always tell [when a song is good or bad],” he doubled down to the Los Angeles Times almost a decade later in 2023. “But it also just got to a point where it was getting excruciating for me to write. The enjoyment went out of it.”

Joel does still have touring plans. This year he’ll appear at shows with Stevie Nicks and Sting, plus perform the final date of his residency at Madison Square Garden on July 25, his 150th show at the venue.