{"id":3905,"date":"2024-02-02T13:41:37","date_gmt":"2024-02-02T13:41:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/artistherald.com\/?p=3905"},"modified":"2024-02-02T13:41:38","modified_gmt":"2024-02-02T13:41:38","slug":"billy-joel-musical-renaissance-rediscovering-fun-in-turn-the-lights-back-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artistherald.com\/?p=3905","title":{"rendered":"Billy Joel Musical Renaissance: Rediscovering Fun in &#8216;Turn the Lights Back On"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The legendary Piano Man, Billy Joel, has broken his two-decade-long silence by releasing his new single, &#8220;Turn the Lights Back On.&#8221;\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In an exclusive interview with Audacy Check In, Joel and co-writer Freddy Wexler delved into the creative process behind the much-anticipated track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Rediscovering the Joy of Music:<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>Joel candidly shared that he had lost the joy of making music for a while, stating, &#8220;It was fun. Music is fun. Rock n&#8217; roll was fun. It was all about having fun \u2014 and I kind of lost that, and I turned the lights off because it wasn&#8217;t fun anymore.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This revelation marked a significant shift for the iconic artist, who had hesitated to return to the studio for new material.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Turning Point with Freddy Wexler:<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>Billy Joel credited his renewed enthusiasm for music to his unexpected connection with co-writer Freddy Wexler.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Other attempts to coax him back into the studio had been unsuccessful, but Wexler&#8217;s work resonated with Joel.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Reflecting on their collaboration, Joel said, &#8220;The melody, the chords, the chord progression, even the time signature struck me immediately, and that&#8217;s how I relate to music.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Overcoming Songwriting Hurdles:<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>Joel admitted that songwriting had become painful, citing a self-imposed high bar that led to self-criticism and avoidance.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, the synergy between him and Wexler and the relatable lyrics of &#8220;Turn the Lights Back On&#8221; presented an opportunity too compelling to resist. Joel remarked, &#8220;It was all falling into place \u2014 and who am I to fight that?&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Live Debut at the Grammys:<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>Billy Joel&#8217;s return to the musical spotlight will be marked by the live debut of &#8220;Turn the Lights Back On&#8221; at the 2024 Grammy Awards on February 4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fans and industry peers eagerly anticipate the performance as Joel brings his new creation to the prestigious stage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The legendary Piano Man, Billy Joel, has broken his two-decade-long silence by releasing his new single, &#8220;Turn the Lights Back On.&#8221;\u00a0 In an exclusive interview with Audacy Check In, Joel and co-writer Freddy Wexler delved into the creative process behind the much-anticipated track. Rediscovering the Joy of Music: Joel candidly shared that he had lost [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3906,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[35,33,34,36],"genre":[],"artist":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-3905","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music-news","8":"tag-billy-joel","9":"tag-featured","10":"tag-freddy-wexler","11":"tag-turn-the-lights-back-on"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistherald.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3905"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistherald.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistherald.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistherald.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistherald.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3905"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/artistherald.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3905\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3907,"href":"https:\/\/artistherald.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3905\/revisions\/3907"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistherald.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3906"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistherald.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistherald.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistherald.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3905"},{"taxonomy":"genre","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistherald.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fgenre&post=3905"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistherald.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fartist&post=3905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}