He isn't among the nominees, but five-time Grammy winner Billy Joel will be making his presence felt at the 2024 Grammy Awards, the Recording Academy announced on Jan. 24. The Long Island hitmaker will perform new single "Turn the Lights Back On" at the Feb. 4 ceremony.
Joel's first new single in 17 years is due out on Feb. 1.
Joel first teased a clip from the single, which will be his first in 17 years, last week. Joel has amassed 23 Grammy nominations over his half-century career, last taking home a competitive Grammy in 1981 for the Best Male Rock Vocal Performance-winning Glass Houses. He accepted the Grammy Legend Award in 1991, and received his most recent nomination in 2002, for a live performance of "New York State of Mind."
Previously announced Grammy performers include multiple nominees Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo and Dua Lipa, as well as Burna Boy, Travis Scott and Luke Combs.
The five-time Grammy winner was last in contention in 2022, for a live version of 'New York State of Mind.'
Releasing on Feb. 1, "Turn The Lights Back On" is, per a press release, "ushering in the next chapter of (Joel's) story." The song was produced by Freddy Wexler (Demi Lovato, P!nk) and written by Wexler, Arthur Bacon, Wayne Hector, and Joel.
Joel's last full-length album of original rock music, River of Dreams, was released in 1993. After that, Joel released 2001's Fantasies & Delusions, his only studio album to contain classical compositions. Since then, there have been compilations — previous to this, his 1985 Greatest Hits Volume I & II is 23x Certified Platinum, second only to Michael Jackson's Thriller — live recordings, and a few singles, the last of which was a Valentine's Day release in 2007, "All My Life."
He was candid in a 2021 interview with Howard Stern about his songwriting stoppage. "I stopped writing songs because I couldn't be as good as I wanted to be. It became too aggravating, it became too frustrating, so I stopped," he said, later adding, "I just haven’t had a desire to do it."
Joel still draws huge crowds to his once-a-month Madison Square Garden residency.
Joel will be touring across North America and the UK throughout 2024, with Sting and Stevie Nicks among his various support acts. Next July, Joel will finally bring his longstanding Madison Square Garden residency to a close, with his 150th career performance at the New York arena. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer began his one-show-a-month residency at the Garden all the way back in January of 2014.
At the Grammys, SZA leads all artists with nine nominations, including Album, Record, and Song of the Year. Breakout singer Victoria Monét, Boygenius member Phoebe Bridgers, and engineer Serban Ghenea follow just behind with seven nominations apiece.
