Alexa Ray Joel - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Alexa Ray Joel is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

Songwriter

A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...

and pianist

Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

. She is the daughter and only child of singer-songwriter Billy Joel

Billy Joel

William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...

and supermodel Christie Brinkley

Christie Brinkley

Christie Brinkley is an American model and actress best known for her three consecutive appearances on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue in the late 1970s and early 1980s, for her long-running contract with CoverGirl, the longest ever of any model in history, and for her marriage...

.

Joel released an EP

Extended play

An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

Sketches (2006) and several single

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

s on an independent

Independent record label

An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...

record label

Record label

In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...

, a single

Single (music)

from an announced album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

All I Can Do having also been released. Joel has performed at numerous charity events, and in 2010 was chosen to be the spokesmodel for Prell

Prell

Prell is a viscous, pearl green shampoo and conditioner product manufactured by Ultimark Products that according to its maker "...contains a unique 'rinse clean' formula that provides a thick, rich lather for clean, healthy hair."-History:...

shampoo.

Early life and influences

Alexa Ray Joel is the daughter of singer Billy Joel

Billy Joel

and his second wife, supermodel

Supermodel

The term supermodel refers to a highly-paid fashion model who usually has a worldwide reputation and often a background in haute couture and commercial modeling. The term became prominent in the popular culture of the 1980s. Supermodels usually work for top fashion designers and labels...

Christie Brinkley

. Her middle name

Middle name

People's names in several cultures include one or more additional names placed between the first given name and the surname. In Canada and the United States all such names are specifically referred to as middle name; in most European countries they would simply be regarded as second, third, etc....

Ray is in honor of the late musician

Musician

A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....

Ray Charles

Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...

. She has a half-brother Jack Paris (Taubman, born 1995) and a half-sister Sailor Lee (Cook, born 1998), both being children of her mother Christie Brinkley.

Joel has said that her father's 1994 song "Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)

Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)

"Lullabye " is the seventh track and third single from Billy Joel's 1993 album River of Dreams. It was inspired by Alexa Ray Joel, his daughter by Christie Brinkley. The song is in the key of G major....

" was written for her, and is her favorite song of his. His 1989 song "The Downeaster Alexa

The Downeaster Alexa

"The Downeaster 'Alexa" is a song originally released in 1989 on Billy Joel's eleventh studio album Storm Front. The album itself went to number one while the fourth single "The Downeaster 'Alexa'" placed at #57 in the Billboard Hot 100. The song was included on Billy Joel's Greatest Hits Vol...

" is titled after a boat he named after her, but is about the struggles of Long Island fishermen. Joel is also referenced in her father's 1989 song "Leningrad

Leningrad (song)

"Leningrad" is a 1989 song written and performed by American singer and songwriter Billy Joel. The song was originally released on his album Storm Front on the Columbia Records label, and went on to be released as a single. It was also released on his Greatest Hits, Vol. 3 compilation. The song...

" (with lyrics: "...He made my daughter laugh, then we embraced..."), in which "He" refers to a Russian man who became a circus clown after being in the Red Army

Red Army

The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...

.)

When she was two years old, Joel's father Billy Joel

Billy Joel

sang and played nursery rhyme

Nursery rhyme

The term nursery rhyme is used for "traditional" poems for young children in Britain and many other countries, but usage only dates from the 19th century and in North America the older ‘Mother Goose Rhymes’ is still often used.-Lullabies:...

s for her on the piano. She dressed in the costume of singers and musical characters and performed for her parents. At the urging of her mother Christie Brinkley

Christie Brinkley

, beginning at age 4, and more seriously from about age 11 through 16, Joel pursued classical piano training. She later said that "piano playing was more of a skill that I had to hone,... not as easy for me as singing and songwriting," and which she humorously said sometimes involved "kicking and screaming." However, Joel later expressed gratitude for her classical piano training, saying that she considers classical music to be "the foundation of all music as well as the most 'musical' type of music," and that her classical experience made her a "very melodic" songwriter. Piano lessons were "what really got me into songwriting" and were "the platform for the melodies and ideas I would come up with." "My ear training came in a very organic way, just from futzing around, singing with my dad at the piano."

Noting that her musical upbringing with her father Billy Joel

Billy Joel

gave her a "unique inside-peek into the songwriting process," in 2006 Joel remarked that "It's no wonder I write music in the same way (my father) does: melody first, and lyrics second." Joel said that by age 15 she was finishing complete songs and complementing those songs with piano accompaniment, describing her lyrics as taking on more depth during the ensuing two years because she was also writing poetry. After studying classical piano, she recalled that she hadn't "really committed to the art of songwriting" until she was about eighteen."

Joel attended the Berklee College of Music

Berklee College of Music

Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...

's five week Music-Fest workshop, which reportedly "encourag(ed) her to explore her gifts as a singer and performer" and "helped her gain confidence" as she had been a shy teenager.

Joel attended New York University

New York University

New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...

(NYU) as a freshman in the musical theater program, which she said was "great" and influenced her as a songwriter since "some of my songs in their structure are sort of like theater songs." However, Joel also reported feeling "disconnected" in the musical theater program at college, retreating to the piano to focus on writing and performing her own songs. She left NYU to pursue a career in music.

Career

At age 19, in 2005 Joel assembled a band and performed her debut live show at Maxwell's

Maxwell's

Maxwell's is a music club in Hoboken, New Jersey that also has a restaurant. The intimate venue often attracts a wide variety of acts looking for a change from the New York City concert spaces across the river.-History:...

in Hoboken, New Jersey

Hoboken, New Jersey

Hoboken is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 50,005. The city is part of the New York metropolitan area and contains Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub for the region...

, also performing at The Stone Pony

The Stone Pony

The Stone Pony, located in Asbury Park, New Jersey, is one of the world's best known music venues. It is known as a starting point for many musicians, first and foremost for Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, who were the house-band for much of the mid-seventies, but also for New Jersey natives...

in Asbury Park, New Jersey

Asbury Park, New Jersey

Asbury Park is a city in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States, located on the Jersey Shore and part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 16,116. The city is known for its rich musical history, including its association with...

. In 2006 Joel played nearly 100 shows, including a Hard Rock Cafe

Hard Rock Cafe

Hard Rock Cafe is a chain of theme restaurants founded in 1971 by Americans Peter Morton & Isaac Tigrett. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and roll memorabilia, a tradition which expanded to others in the chain. In 2006, Hard Rock was sold to the Seminole Tribe of Florida, and...

tour completed in May 2006.

Sketches

Joel self-released and independently distributed the six-song EP

Extended play

Sketches in August 2006, which she promoted by visits to 16 cities. Joel explained "It's called Sketches because it's like raw sketches, pretty much what we sound like live. About three of the songs, actually, were done in one take." "There was no specific strategy behind this EP. We simply recorded six songs that I liked because they were eclectic. ... I was just really trying to put out different styles, a whole mixture of stuff," from "jazzy" ("Song of Yesterday") to "doo-wop" ("The Heart of Me") to "funky" ("Now It's Gone").

She cautioned that Sketches was not a "first album" but rather "a raw CD that was initially intended to be only a demo." "When I was recording Sketches, just going into a studio and working out songs with other musicians was new to me. I didn't have people around me making decisions; I really did it myself. So, Sketches is really the baby, the egg that hatched." "I don't have a team of managers and assistants around me because it's very important to feel like I can do this on my own - especially considering who my father is."

Joel designed and illustrated the CD cover, packaging and inserts that included her handwritten lyrics.

Joel has commented on the six tracks on Sketches:

Joel said that she wrote "The Revolution Song" near the end of her freshman year, when she was more introverted than others in NYU's musical theater program. With lyrics "We spend all our days tryin' to make somebody proud, It's enough to make me wanna go and scream it out loud," she said that it was "one of the most liberating songs for me to write." "There is always resistance when you're young ... wanting to have passion and desire and love. ... So I wrote about what I felt."

Joel explained that "Now It's Gone" is about her mother's separation from her then husband amid allegations of his infidelity: "I wrote ("Now It's Gone") in a day. It came really naturally. It helped me get rid of the anger that I have. When I perform it, the anger boils back up because I get into the song. But (the anger has) kind of all washed itself away in the lyrics. "People can hear that song ('Now It's Gone') and get angry at whoever, some annoying person in their life."

Joel referred to "Song of Yesterday" as "my Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...

song, ... about being more inspired by the music of my father's generation as opposed to my own," expressing "longing for the music of the past." "It's very old-school,... (when) people focused on melodies back in the day."

Joel said "The Heart of Me" is "about how I reveal myself in my songs and my dependency on music. I was shyer then, so it was harder for me to communicate naturally." "'The Heart of Me'... introduce(d) me, and the fact that I do write my own music, which I wanted to make clear on my album." Of the lyrics, "I'm so tired of hearing these love songs," Joel explained "I was longing for a different time, when songwriters wrote really good songs."

"Resistance" was "written when I was 18, at a time when I was a very shy, awkward girl. ... I was craving a passionate, intimate connection with a man! I wrote that song when I was very into theater, so it's almost theater rock."

Sketches also included a pop/rock cover of Neil Young
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...

's "Don't Let It Bring You Down."

Joel's work in Sketches was characterized as including a "coiled rebellious streak that seems greatly at odds with the rich melodicism

Melody

A melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...

of the music,.... (displaying) anxious outsider tendencies throughout the EP." The allmusic review of Sketches said that a "restless tendency has been passed on from father to daughter, along with whatever natural musical genes, which makes Alexa Ray Joel, on the basis of this debut EP, one of the best second-generation rockers to yet emerge." The Phoenix New Times

Phoenix New Times

The Phoenix New Times is a free, weekly Phoenix, Arizona newspaper, put out every Thursday. It is the founding publication of the New Times Media , but The Village Voice is now the flagship publication of that company....

said that this, Joel's first EP, "doesn't bear the mark of a burgeoning genius so much as that of a solid, self-aware songwriter who's still fine-tuning her craft," characterizing her songs as having a "smooth, jazzy vibe, ... vocal-driven with simple piano accompaniment," and further commenting on Joel's "soulful, lilting voice and clean melodies." The West Valley View

West Valley View

The West Valley View is a newspaper in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area serving the West Valley cities and towns of Avondale, Buckeye, Goodyear, Litchfield Park, Tolleson and Tonopah. It has a circulation of 80,458 and is published twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays from its offices in Avondale....

compared Joel to aspects of Norah Jones

Norah Jones

Norah Jones is an American singer-songwriter and occasional actress.In 2002, she launched her solo music career with the release of the commercially successful and critically acclaimed album Come Away With Me, which was certified a diamond album in 2002, selling over 20 million copies...

, Aretha Franklin

Aretha Franklin

Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...

, and Nelly Furtado

Nelly Furtado

Nelly Kim Furtado is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Furtado grew up in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.Furtado first gained fame with her debut album, Whoa, Nelly!, and its single "I'm Like a Bird", which won a 2001 Juno Award for Single of the Year and a 2002 Grammy...

, and described Sketches as having "six delicately crafted rock-infused soul songs that dance openly with pop aesthetics — catchy hooks, superb piano arrangements, full choruses, guitar-teasing melodies."

After Sketches

Joel performed at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival

New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, often known as Jazz Fest, is an annual celebration of the music and culture of New Orleans and Louisiana...

(April 2007), the 2007 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival

2007 Bonnaroo Music Festival

The 2007 Bonnaroo Music and Arts festival was held on June 14-17. All 80,000 tickets were sold out.On January 10, 2007, Bonnaroo organizers Superfly Productions and AC Entertainment purchased of the farm where the annual music festival is held, encompassing the performance areas and much of the...

(June 2007), and the Albany

Albany, New York

Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...

Riverfront Jazz Festival (September 2007).

Joel performed onstage with her father Billy Joel

Billy Joel

during the 2008 Rainforest Foundation Fund Benefit Concert at Carnegie Hall

Carnegie Hall

Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....

on May 8, 2008. Other charity events at which Joel has performed include the "Save Sag Harbor

Sag Harbor, New York

Sag Harbor is an incorporated village in Suffolk County, New York, United States, with parts in both the Towns of East Hampton and Southampton. The population was 2,313 at the 2000 census....

" benefit concert (2008), the "Stage For The Cure" benefit for pediatric cancer (New York City, 2008), a benefit for The Art of Elysium (artists for seriously ill children; The Hamptons, 2009), a benefit for Habitat for Humanity (Long Beach, New York

Long Beach, New York

Long Beach is a city in Nassau County, New York. Just south of Long Island, it is located on Long Beach Barrier Island, which is the westernmost of the outer barrier islands off Long Island's South Shore. As of the United States 2010 Census, the city population was 33,275...

, 2010), the "Right To Play

Right to Play

Right To Play is an international humanitarian organization that uses sport and play programs to improve health, develop life skills, and foster peace for children and communities in some of the most disadvantaged areas of the world...

Day" benefit (Sag Harbor, New York

Sag Harbor, New York

Sag Harbor is an incorporated village in Suffolk County, New York, United States, with parts in both the Towns of East Hampton and Southampton. The population was 2,313 at the 2000 census....

, 2010), and the Eric Trump

Eric Trump

Eric Fredrick Trump is the third child of Donald J. Trump and Ivana Trump, and is executive vice president, real estate development and mergers and acquisitions, at The Trump Organization, Trump Tower. He is also the founder and chairman of .-Early life and education:Trump was born in New York...

Foundation benefit for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, founded in 1962, is a leading pediatric treatment and research facility focused on children's catastrophic diseases. It is located in Memphis, Tennessee. It is a nonprofit medical corporation chartered as a 501 tax-exempt organization under IRS regulations.In...

(New York City, 2010).

Joel and her father Billy Joel

Billy Joel

performed his song "Baby Grand

Baby Grand

"Baby Grand" is the fourth and final single released off Billy Joel's album The Bridge. A duet with Joel and Ray Charles, the song is a ballad dedicated to the baby grand piano, and the relationship it can share with its players. The two originally got together when Charles contacted Joel about the...

" at a Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

election fundraiser

Fundraiser

A fundraiser is an event or campaign whose primary purpose is to raise money for a cause. See also: fundraising. A fundraiser can also be an individual or company whose primary job is to raise money for a specific charity or non-profit organization...

at the Hammerstein Ballroom

Hammerstein Ballroom

The Hammerstein Ballroom is a two-tiered, 12,000 square feet ballroom located within the Manhattan Center Studios on 311 West 34th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States of America. It is known for its elegant appearance and excellent acoustical design...

on October 16, 2008.

Joel debuted her single

Single (music)

"Invisible" on The Wendy Williams Show

The Wendy Williams Show

The Wendy Williams Show is a syndicated talk show hosted by Wendy Williams that premiered on July 14, 2008, as six-week sneak peek, in Detroit, Dallas, Los Angeles, and New York City. The test run was picked up for a full season that began its run on July 13, 2009 in over 70% of the country in...

in October 2009, the song being described as a "piano-driven ballad... about a bad breakup."

Joel's "Notice Me" single

Single (music)

, released on May 24, 2010, was listed as a "Hit-Bound song" on the Sirius XM Hits 1 satellite radio

Satellite radio

Satellite radio is an analogue or digital radio signal that is relayed through one or more satellites and thus can be received in a much wider geographical area than terrestrial FM radio stations...

channel in August 2010. Newsday

Newsday

Newsday is a daily American newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties and the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, although it is sold throughout the New York metropolitan area...

described the single as having a "carefree braininess" and "bouncy guitar riffs and an instantly hummable chorus" that made Joel's work "sound like Regina Spektor

Regina Spektor

Regina Ilyinichna Spektor is a Russian American singer-songwriter and pianist. Her music is associated with the anti-folk scene centered in New York City's East Village.-Early life:...

crossed with Katy Perry

Katy Perry

Katy Perry is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Born in Santa Barbara, California, and raised by Christian pastor parents, Perry grew up listening to only gospel music and sang in her local church as a child. After earning a GED during her first year of high school, she began to pursue a...

." "Notice Me" is Joel's first collaboration with producer Tommy Byrnes and her first since signing with Long Beach, New York

Long Beach, New York

management company OCD Music Group/The Hang Productions. Joel described the "Notice Me" video as using fashion to show both a modern look and a vintage throwback look.

Joel performed at Manhattan's "Fashion's Night Out" in 2009 (Elie Tahari

Elie Tahari

Elie Tahari is an Israeli-American luxury fashion designer of men and women's clothing. Elie Tahari, Ltd., the company he founded, has annual revenue of around $1 to 2.5 million...

), 2010 (Bloomingdale's

Bloomingdale's

Bloomingdale's is an American department store owned by Macy's, Inc. .Bloomingdale's started in 1861 when brothers Joseph and Lyman G. Bloomingdale started selling hoop-skirts in their Ladies Notions' Shop on Manhattan's Lower East Side...

), and 2011 (Bloomingdale's

Bloomingdale's

).

Joel's album

Album

All I Can Do, including her single

Single (music)

"Notice Me," was announced for release in early 2011. OCD Music Group/The Hang Productions Inc. lists artist manager Stefano DiBenedetto with producer Tommy Byrnes as partners.

Joel had a residency playing in the Oak Room of New York's Plaza Hotel

Plaza Hotel

The Plaza Hotel in New York City is a landmark 20-story luxury hotel with a height of and length of that occupies the west side of Grand Army Plaza, from which it derives its name, and extends along Central Park South in Manhattan. Fifth Avenue extends along the east side of Grand Army Plaza...

in late 2010 and early 2011, said to add a "contemporary vibe" to the "storied venue."

Artistry and influences

Joel described her music while in the Musical Theater program at NYU as taking on a musical theater tone, and, because at age 18 she "didn’t really have a boyfriend... or know as much," her music was "dreamy and idealistic," "not necessarily as
edgy."

Joel characterized the genre of her debut 2006 EP Sketches as being "pop

Pop music

Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...

/soul

Soul music

Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...

/blues

Blues

Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...

," its allmusic review describing Joel as "drawing on a lot of different styles" to create "instantly familiar pop

Pop music

." The following spring, Joel described this earlier work as having been "idealistic and maybe a little more pop

Pop music

py," explaining that her ensuing work "goes a little deeper" and focuses more on the lyrics, some of her newer songs being in the jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

and country

Country music

Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

genres. Her published works have been classified in the pop

Pop music

/rock

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

, and jazz

Jazz

genres. Joel herself explained that it is a "mistake" for artists "to confine their music into one specific genre, ... because there are so many styles of music to be influenced by." One commentater remarked that Joel's "pitch-perfect singing and big kit bag of stylistic flourishes ... allow this versatile vocalist/songwriter to sound like a Billie Holiday

Billie Holiday

Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...

or Etta James

Etta James

Etta James is an American blues, soul, rhythm and blues , rock and roll, gospel and jazz singer. In the 1950s and 1960s, she had her biggest success as a blues and R&B singer...

one moment, then a Carole King

Carole King

Carole King is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. King and her former husband Gerry Goffin wrote more than two dozen chart hits for numerous artists during the 1960s, many of which have become standards. As a singer, King had an album, Tapestry, top the U.S...

or even a Dolly Parton

Dolly Parton

Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...

the next.

Joel has likened her creative approach to that of her father Billy Joel

Billy Joel

: In 2006 Joel explained that, like her father, she strives to write songs that are very melodic

Melody

A melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...

, with a unifying theme or hook

Hook (music)

A hook is a musical idea, often a short riff, passage, or phrase, that is used in popular music to make a song appealing and to "catch the ear of the listener". The term generally applies to popular music, especially rock music, hip hop, dance music, and pop. In these genres, the hook is often...

being present throughout. However, her songs are distinct: Joel was described as writing "tight, melodic, catchy songs that are as classically constructed as her father's without sounding much like his work," Joel being said to have more in common with the "classicist coffeehouse pop" of Norah Jones

Norah Jones

than with her father. Asked about their respective musical styles, Joel responded: Mine is "a bit more soul

Soul music

ful, more blues

Blues

than my dad's. He’s more pop

Pop music

rock

Rock music

."

Asked about her approach to songwriting, Joel explained that her "pattern is that songs are easiest for me when I’m really in the throes of things. I don’t think I write as well when a lot of time has gone (by) and I look back and reflect. ... I like to write when I’m feeling it in the moment. "I usually have the melody first, and (then) the lyrics," noting that her father "focuses on the melody first, and then, the lyrics are always very fitting, ... you never say “oh, that sounds awkward.” Like the pieces of a puzzle, everything just fits together." "My favorite songs are simple songs." "I’m very, very old school,...I like songs that sound like…classics. ... like they’re timeless. I’m always trying to emulate that with my songs." Even before Sketches was released, a reviewer remarked "There's nothing remotely indie or trendy about Joel. As a songwriter she's clearly absorbed the classics Carole King

Carole King

, Elton John

Elton John

Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...

, Billy Joel

Billy Joel

." In 2006 Joel said "I like slow-burning jazz songs," and in 2008 cited Ray Charles

Ray Charles

, Norah Jones

Norah Jones

, Billie Holiday

Billie Holiday

Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...

and Etta James

Etta James

Etta James is an American blues, soul, rhythm and blues , rock and roll, gospel and jazz singer. In the 1950s and 1960s, she had her biggest success as a blues and R&B singer...

as influences." In 2011, however, Joel reportedly mentioned Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...

, Radiohead

Radiohead

Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...

, June Carter

June Carter Cash

Valerie June Carter Cash was an American singer, dancer, songwriter, actress, comedienne and author who was a member of the Carter Family and the second wife of singer Johnny Cash...

, Regina Spektor

Regina Spektor

Regina Ilyinichna Spektor is a Russian American singer-songwriter and pianist. Her music is associated with the anti-folk scene centered in New York City's East Village.-Early life:...

and Lily Allen

Lily Allen

Lily Rose Beatrice Cooper , better known as Lily Allen, is an English recording artist and fashion designer. She is the daughter of actor and musician Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen. In her teenage years, her musical tastes evolved from glam rock to alternative...

as influences.

Concerning artistic development, Joel, who described herself as having been "overly polite" and avoiding confrontation, advised in late 2010 that "Your songs are your babies, you have to protect them, and you cannot let anybody tweak them or finish them in a way that you feel isn't right."

Endorsements

In February 2010 Joel was chosen the new spokeswoman for Ultimark Products' Prell

Prell

brand of shampoo, with Joel's songs to serve as background for commercials. New York Post

New York Post

The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...

sources said that Joel was persuaded to accept the commercial endorsement contract because of the opportunity to promote her music. Additionally, Joel was said to have liked the idea of succeeding her mother Christie Brinkley

Christie Brinkley

, who was the face of Prell in 1986.

Personal life

On December 5, 2009 Joel ingested a quantity of Traumeel, a homeopathic alternative to ibuprofen

Ibuprofen

Ibuprofen is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug used for relief of symptoms of arthritis, fever, as an analgesic , especially where there is an inflammatory component, and dysmenorrhea....

. Joel is reported to have taken "several pills"; an NYU Medical Center toxicologist said the drug has "no active ingredient" and indicated that it was essentially impossible to overdose ("basically you'd be taking more of nothing"). Interviewed six months later by ABC News

ABC News

ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...

, Joel described herself as having been "distraught and in so much pain" after the end of a four-year romantic relationship but not wanting to bother anyone since it was the holiday season. "I wasn't trying to kill myself. I was panicked. I was not thinking clearly at all. ... I was in so much pain and I just wanted to numb it." "The intent was to calm me down because I was having a panic attack."

Joel told People
People (magazine)
In 1998, the magazine introduced a version targeted at teens called Teen People. However, on July 27, 2006, the company announced it would shut down publication of Teen People immediately. The last issue to be released was scheduled for September 2006. Subscribers to this magazine received...

magazine that her April 2010 rhinoplasty

Rhinoplasty

Rhinoplasty , also nose job, is a plastic surgery procedure for correcting and reconstructing the form, restoring the functions, and aesthetically enhancing the nose, by resolving nasal trauma , congenital defect, respiratory impediment, and a failed primary rhinoplasty...

(colloquially, "nose job") operation came after five years of consideration, and was to correct a deviated septum and to feel better about herself, Joel having been "self-conscious of pictures taken from the side." Joel explained that her surgery waited until she "was in a better place" than at the time of her Traumeel incident four months earlier, further stating that she's "done with plastic surgery."

In July 2010, ABC News

ABC News

ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...

' 20/20 interviewed Joel about "moving out of (the) shadows" of her "two megastar parents," and about recovery from her December 2009 crisis with depression. While Joel acknowledged it had been "scary" to be "compared to a rock and roll legend," her confidence was said to be "helped along by a wider acceptance" by others. Saying "I'm not a blond girl with blue eyes and that's fine," Joel added that Ultimark Products' approaching her to be the face of Prell

Prell

shampoo in print and TV ads, was a "big confidence booster." Describing her overcoming the relationship dependence that triggered her December 2009 Traumeel incident, Joel said "I've got to get a new band, ... whole new songs, ...whole new career plan. Everything changed after that incident."

Sketches

(Aug. 2006)
(EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

, Audio Bee (label))

The Heart of Me - 5:23
Now its Gone - 3:32
Don't Let it Bring You Down - 3:05
The Revolution Song - 4:17
Resistance - 4:07
Song of Yesterday - 2:53

For All My Days

(Jan. 2008)
(Single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

, Audio Bee (label))

For All My Days - 4:42

Notice Me

(May 2010)
(Single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

, Audio Bee or OCD Music Group/The Hang Productions (label))

Notice Me - 2:48

Media appearances

September 8, 2006: Today ("The Today Show")

November 16, 2006: Ron and Fez
Ron and Fez
The Ron and Fez Show is an American radio talk show hosted by Ron Bennington and Fez "Marie" Whatley.After long popular runs in Tampa, Florida, New York City, and Washington, D.C., Ron and Fez are now heard on Sirius XM Radio's the Opie and Anthony Channel, located on XM channel 105, and Sirius...

Show on XM Satellite Radio
XM Satellite Radio
XM Satellite Radio is one of two satellite radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Radio. It provides pay-for-service radio, analogous to cable television. Its service includes 73 different music channels, 39 news, sports, talk and entertainment channels, 21 regional...

November 17, 2006: CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...

's Showbiz Tonight
Showbiz Tonight
Showbiz Tonight is an American entertainment news program on HLN .Showbiz Tonight is hosted by A.J. Hammer at CNN New York. The show reports and debates celebrity entertainment news stories and controversies, along with social networking segments involving viewer interaction via social networks and...

May 10, 2007: Jimmy Kimmel Live
Jimmy Kimmel Live
Jimmy Kimmel Live! is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel and broadcast on ABC.The nightly hour-long show made its debut on January 26, 2003, following Super Bowl XXXVII. Jimmy Kimmel Live! is produced by Jackhole Productions in association with ABC Studios...

October 21, 2009: The Wendy Williams Show
The Wendy Williams Show
The Wendy Williams Show is a syndicated talk show hosted by Wendy Williams that premiered on July 14, 2008, as six-week sneak peek, in Detroit, Dallas, Los Angeles, and New York City. The test run was picked up for a full season that began its run on July 13, 2009 in over 70% of the country in...
June 17, 2010 Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
June 18, 2010: 20/20
July 15, 2010: The Howard Stern Show
October 15, 2010: Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
October 29, 2010: Rosie
Rosie O'Donnell
Roseann "Rosie" O'Donnell is an American stand-up comedian, actress, author and television personality. She has also been a magazine editor and continues to be a celebrity blogger, LGBT rights activist, television producer and collaborative partner in the LGBT family vacation company R Family...

Radio
December 8, 2010: Billy Bush interview, Access Hollywood
Access Hollywood
Access Hollywood is a weekday television entertainment news program covering events and celebrities in the entertainment industry. It was created by former Entertainment Tonight executive producer Jim Van Messel, and is currently directed by Robert Silverstein. In previous years, Doug Dougherty and...
January 3, 2011: Extra
Extra (TV series)
Extra is an American entertainment television news program covering events and celebrities which debuted on September 5, 1994 in syndication. It is produced at Victory Studios in Glendale, California by Telepictures Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television Distribution...
July 31, 2011: The Real Housewives of New Jersey
The Real Housewives of New Jersey
The Real Housewives of New Jersey is a reality television program on the Bravo network which originally followed the lives of five women in and around several upscale communities in Northern New Jersey...
August 19, 2011: Jane
Jane Pratt
Jane Pratt is the founding editor of Sassy and Jane. She currently hosts the talk show Jane Radio on Sirius XM Radio.-Early life:...

Radio
October 25, 2011: Jane
Jane Pratt
Jane Pratt is the founding editor of Sassy and Jane. She currently hosts the talk show Jane Radio on Sirius XM Radio.-Early life:...

Radio

External links

Joel's official website
Joel's facebook page
AlexaRayJoelOfficial channel on YouTube (WebCite archive)
Joel's MySpace page (WebCite archive)

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.