The musician, who will release his first pop single in almost 20 years just days before, last performed at the award show alongside Tony Bennett in 2002
For the first time in 22 years, Billy Joel will be taking the stage at the Grammy Awards. The musician has been added to the growing lineup of performers for the 66th Grammy Awards, which will take place on Feb. 4 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Joel will release “Turn The Lights Back On” three days before the ceremony, his first official single in 17 years.
Joel last performed at the Grammy Awards in 2002, taking the stage with Tony Bennett to duet “New York State of Mind.” The song, recorded for Bennett’s 2001 album Playin’ with My Friends: Bennett Sings the Blues, was nominated that year for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.
With his addition to the 2024 lineup, Joel is the only announced performer — so far — who hasn’t also been nominated for this year’s show. Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, Dua Lipa, Burna Boy, Luke Combs, and Travis Scott are all scheduled to take the stage and are also up for awards in various categories.
Should Joel and Rodrigo cross paths at the show, it’ll be a sweet reunion following their team-up at Madison Square Garden in August 2022. Rodrigo arrives as a special guest during one of Joel’s residency shows at the venue and performed “Deja Vu,” the 2021 single from her debut album Sour that name-drops the pop veteran. They also ran through “Uptown Girl” together for good measure.
Joel’s return to the Grammy Awards also coincides with the 45th anniversary of his breakthrough year at the show. In 1979, the first year he was nominated at the show, he took home trophies for Record of the Year and Song of the Year for “Just the Way You Are.” It’s the same two categories that Eilish was awarded wins for “Bad Guy” back in 2022, her own debut Grammys year.
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