Billy Joel releases first new music video in decades for 'Turn The Lights Back On'

Directed by Warren Fu & Freddy Wexler, video utilizes groundbreaking technology to showcase a performance through the ages of Billy Joel’s life

Press Release

Today, Columbia Records shares Billy Joel’s first new music video in decades for his new single “Turn the Lights Back On” – watch here or below. Directed by Warren Fu (Daft Punk, Dua Lipa) and Freddy Wexler, the video utilizes groundbreaking technology from Deep Voodoo (Kendrick Lamar, Juice WRLD), and showcases Joel performing the beloved track throughout the different decades of his life.

The six-time Grammy Award-winning Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee and Kennedy Center honoree took the stage a few weeks ago at the 2024 Grammys for the debut performance of “Turn The Lights Back On.” The single exploded at radio (No. 1 on Classic Hits, No. 1 Classic Rock, No. 1 Most Added, No. 1 Greatest Spin Gainer, No. 1 Greatest Audience Gainer and Top 10 Chart Debut at Adult Contemporary Radio). It is currently No. 8 on the Adult Contemporary chart for the second consecutive week, the highest AC chart position for Joel since 1993. It is also Joel’s first song to break the Billboard Hot 100 since 1997.

NPR’s Robin Hilton writes, “In a stacked catalog of classic ballads, ‘Turn The Lights Back On’ will stand as one of his most affecting.”

Joel 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.

“Turn The Lights Back On” was produced by Grammy-nominated songwriter and producer Wexler and written by Wexler, Arthur Bacon, Wayne Hector and Joel.

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 U.S., 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 & 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.”

In 2024, he shares his first new song and music video in decades, “Turn The Lights Back On.”

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