Billy Joel Is Joining The “No More Album” Train

Billy Joel has made it clear that fans shouldn’t expect a new album following the surprise release of his first new song in nearly 20 years.

When asked about a larger studio project by Variety, he bluntly responded, “Nope!” Joel continued:

“Who makes albums anymore anyway?
“I think the only person making new albums these days is Taylor Swift or Olivia Rodrigo. I don’t know other people who make albums. I don’t know what the marketing of that is like now.”

A part of the modern music marketing effort often includes appearances at major events like the Grammys and nationally broadcast concerts. However, Joel’s recent Madison Square Garden concert, which was controversially cut short during his performance of “Piano Man,” highlighted his skepticism about such platforms.

Joel confessed:

“I wasn’t surprised.
“I’ve never been really happy with the way music is presented on television. For TV people, it’s really all about the visual. If you’re looking at a television set, you’ll see a big screen and a little tiny speaker and that should tell you enough about where their priorities are.”

Billy Joel Describes Songwriting as ‘Torture’

Despite CBS announcing a re-airing of the concert in full, the initial damage was already done. Joel shifted his focus to a co-headlining tour with Sting after wrapping up his long residency at the Garden. His setlists included “Turn the Lights Back On,” Joel’s new song, which has been warmly received.

However, Joel describes songwriting as a “form of torture.” Reflecting on his creative process, he told Variety:

“There’s this big black beast with 88 teeth that wants to bite my fingers off while I’m writing. I drive myself nuts. It’s just not as good as I want it to be. It’s a great deal of torment, and I decided I don’t want to put myself through that anymore.”

This pressure, Joel explained, led to “drinking problems and all kinds of self-hate when I was writing, because I set the bar so high. It’s not something I miss.” Despite the acclaim and success, Joel’s candid remarks reveal the personal struggles behind his music creation, underscoring his reluctance to return to the studio for another album.