The iconic Billy Joel first rose to fame in 1974, following his release of “Piano Man,” his first hit single and first top 40 hit. Billy Joel’s second album of all time reached number 8 on the Billboard chart, selling over three million copies. Between 1970 and 1993, Joel had been continuously releasing new hit music. He had pleased the fans every twelve to sixteen months with the release of a hot new album.

This was until 2007 when Joel decided to step out of the spotlight for a substantial amount of time. He decided to take a hiatus from music which lasted seventeen years. He revealed to the Audacy Check-In podcast early this month that he set the bar so high for himself. He explains how “if I don’t reach that bar, I beat myself up and I punch myself and I hate myself. So I stopped doing music because I got tired of feeling like that.” Joel felt that music was his passion, yet it turned into something he lost enjoyment for.

This was until February of 2024 when he made a sweeping comeback at the 66th annual Grammys, where he performed and debuted his new pop song, “Turn the Lights Back On.” Joel’s latest song touched fans around the world as it represents his complex feelings around time and reflection.