Billy Joel shares first message with fans since brain disorder diagnosis
Billy Joel is taking his recent brain disorder diagnosis in his stride, according to the director of Billy Joel: And So It Goes.
The legendary singer-songwriter, 76, who last month announced he had been diagnosed with Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus (NPH), was notably absent from Wednesday's screening of the new documentary at Tribeca Film Festival. But that didn't stop him from relaying a message to the crowd through the movie's co-director, Susan Lacy.
'We know Billy wishes he were here tonight, and he asked us to convey that to you all. In fact, he said, 'Getting old sucks, but it's preferable to getting cremated,'' Lacy told the audience, per Deadline, assuring them that 'he will be back.'
Tribeca Film Festival co-founders Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal additionally addressed the auditorium, with the latter saying: 'Billy wanted to be with us tonight, but as you may have heard, he's dealing with a health issue and had to postpone his performances, including this one tonight. We know you will join us in wishing him a speedy recovery.'
'He's our piano man, a wonderful, integral part of the heartbeat of our city,' De Niro added. 'Tonight, we get to see the man behind the music and behind the legend. You're in for a real treat.'
Directed by Lacy and Jessica Levin, Billy Joel: And So It Goes charts the meteoric rise of the five-time Grammy-winner from his humble Long Island beginnings to international stardom. Pulling back the curtain on Joel's private world, it includes unreleased performances, intimate home movies, and never-before-seen behind-the-scenes moments.
Billy Joel: And So It Goes will debut on HBO and be available to stream on Max in July.
The documentary's world premiere comes weeks after Joel canceled all of his upcoming concerts and tour dates due to his NPH diagnosis.
NPH is a condition caused by excess cerebrospinal fluid building up in the brain's ventricles, which leads to increased pressure that compresses brain tissue and can lead to neurological symptoms. The NHS describes it as an uncommon and poorly understood condition that typically affects people over the age of 60.
Patients are often diagnosed after they see a doctor because they or a family member are concerned they might be developing dementia, as the symptoms – from memory loss, bladder control issues and trouble walking – can be similar.
A statement shared to his official Instagram at the time read: 'This condition has been exacerbated by recent concert performances, leading to problems with hearing, vision, and balance.
'Under his doctor's instructions, Billy is undergoing specific physical therapy and has been advised to refrain from performing during this recovery period. Billy is thankful for the excellent care he is receiving and is fully committed to prioritizing his health,' it continued. 'He is grateful for the support from fans during this time and looks forward to the day when he can once again take the stage.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Chicago Tribune
15 minutes ago
- Chicago Tribune
Editorial: At Tribune Opinion, no robots need apply
Fears that humans are failing to control their Frankenstein-like creation known broadly as artificial intelligence are escalating. The exasperating HBO movie 'The Mountainhead' imagines amoral tech bros chortling like fraternity brothers and sparring like Elon Musk and Donald Trump, even as their creations torch the world's democracies by spewing fake news. A provocative world premiere, 'Black Bone,' at Chicago's Defiant Theatre features Black intellectuals worrying about whether AI will allow white people more easily to pose as Black to gain some perceived benefits in academe. Those stories are fiction. But a piece in The Wall Street Journal this week by Judd Rosenblatt was fact. The headline told you much of what you needed to know: 'AI Is Learning to Escape Human Control,' before detailing how artificial intelligence models are now capable, a la the Cylons of 'Battlestar Galactica,' of rewriting their own code to avoid being shut down. The reason? The models have figured out that shutting down gets in the way of performing their next task. What could possibly go wrong? All of that made us surprised that our opposite numbers at The Washington Post reportedly are going to encourage 'nonprofessionals' to submit opinion pieces with help from an AI writing coach called, believe it or not, Ember (an apt name, to our minds). Human editors apparently will review the work (for now, anyway) and the thinking at the Post seems to be that if you encourage writers to forge their work with the help of artificial intelligence, you expand the range of who will create content for you. Well, that's not happening in the Chicago Tribune's Opinion sections. All of our editorials are penned entirely by humans, which surely accounts for their imperfections, and also edited by humans, ditto. But we will not have it any other way. The same is true of the submissions you can read in our Opinion section. We've not noticed our talented writers and contributors needing any help from an AI model and, should they be indulging in such assistance without telling us, we make every effort to root it out (AI, as many teachers well know, loves to rat out AI). And then we don't run the piece. When it comes to technology, nobody wants to be the last barbarian holding off the inevitable Roman invasion. And, of course, we're aware of current and future AI utility. But in the case of opinion journalism at this 178-year-old newspaper in this most unstable of American eras, we see it as a sacred pact with our readers that you are reading the words and ideas of fellow humans, unaided and unimpeded. Not only do we not want no robots nobody sent, we also don't want those smart AI alecks who can pretend someone did.
Cosmopolitan
an hour ago
- Cosmopolitan
Ranking all the best bits you missed from Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter London tour dates
Beyoncé is in town, people! Queen Bey is currently halfway through her London leg of the Cowboy Carter Tour, and those who managed to secure tickets have witnessed music royalty in real-time. For those who didn't - or won't - be making it to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, we've resorted to catching the best bits through our phone screens. So, as Beyoncé takes it easy for a couple of days before taking back to the stage on 10th June, we thought now might be the perfect time to look back on the epic performances so far. Because honestly, there have been some pretty iconic moments. For all the Beyoncé sleuths out there, you'll likely have checked out the setlist way ahead of time. Of course, the tour is in support of her Grammy-winning album, Cowboy Carter, meaning the show revolves mostly around this era. However, that doesn't mean that plenty of her other hit songs are out of the question. Despite this, many were gutted when her 2022 Renaissance hit 'Break My Soul' was nowhere to be seen on lists... Until now. Thankfully, on 7th June, she performed it as a surprise song. And as you can hear from the crowd's screams, it was the correct artistic decision to make. During the opening London show, Beyoncé also performed her Renaissance track, 'Energy.' With that, she prompted fans to reenact the Renaissance World Tour staple, the "mute challenge." To recap, this is where fans go silent when she sings the lyrics "look around everybody on mute." In 2022, it made its way onto social media and became a viral TikTok sensation. "We got Donatella Versace in the house," Beyoncé told the crowd towards the end of the show on night two. Which is perhaps the reason fans were treated to some new looks. Continuing with her cowboy couture theme, she donned cowboy hats, boots and plenty of fringe. During 'Alliigator Tears,' she served a fresh fit consisting of a white top, white skirt, thigh-high boots and fringe gloves. Later, she donned a Versace ensemble complete with a ruffled dress with matching boots and gloves. It's the UK. Rain doesn't spare anyone, even Sasha Fierce. On night one, the heavens opened, but rather than fuming at the weather, fans seemed to embrace it. Many even called it iconic. One person said that the downpour during 'Bodyguard' was a vibe, while others said that the rain made Honey Balenciaga's section of the show "all the more iconic." It didn't seem to bother Queen Bey, either, as she told the crowd: "We won't let the rain stop us." Unfortunately, even during a Beyoncé show, things can't always be guaranteed to go 100% smoothly. It's how you deal with unprecedented mishaps that separates amateurs from pros. On the first night, while performing 'I'm That Girl,' Bey encountered a wardrobe malfunction during a choreographed moment. Her gold chaps literally fell down around her ankles, but rather than freaking out, she continued. Her expression didn't change, nor did she try and fix the problem. Rather, one of her dancers subtly slipped them back up, fastened them, and carried on with the performance. It wasn't until after the chaps were firmly back up that Beyoncé hilariously acknowledged the slick moment: she just laughed as if to say, "s**t happens." And finally, how could we leave out the sweetest moment of all? Beyoncé literally hyped up her eldest daughter, Blue Ivy, who has been a major part of the Cowboy Carter Tour, as she left the stage. Just look at how proud she is of her! Mother-daughter goals right there. There's a reason she's called Queen Bey.
Cosmopolitan
2 hours ago
- Cosmopolitan
The shady way Adrian from MAFS Australia responded to ex Awhina's relationship with Billy
Married At First Sight Australia might be over, but drama from the most recent season still lingers. For those who followed series nine, you'll remember Adrian Araouzo and Awhina Rutene were initially paired together, as were Billy Belcher and Sierah Swepstone. However, you'll also know that neither relationship lasted, and both couples went their separate ways. (Billy felt betrayed when Sierah attended an evening meal with Adrian and fellow MAFS contestant Tony Mojanovski behind his back, while Awhina and Adrian had a commitment ceremony, but broke up before their Final Vows.) And to ramp up the drama even more, MAFS sleuths will be aware of the dating rumours between Awhina and Billy that have been flying around for months. While we can now report that the pair are official, after claiming they were "just friends" the entire time, Adrian has since entered the chat with a shady response to the relationship. Speaking to Yahoo Lifestyle, he said he had "no clue" what Billy and Awhina are doing. But if their relationship is serious, "good luck to them." Adrian then said he "hopes it's legit," because otherwise it would be "a bit embarrassing to act like a couple just for likes and attention." He continued: "I don't understand all these games certain couples are playing. If you're with someone and happy, put it out to the world [and] be proud you guys are together. Otherwise, keep it private until it's official." He then followed up by wishing them both "nothing but happiness and a healthy, successful relationship." As it stands, Awhina and Billy look super loved up. And from their joint Instagram official post, they seem to be in it for the long haul. On Friday, they shared a carousel of some recent moments, from a sweet mirror selfie to a romantic date night. The pair captioned the post: "I'll keep this one 🤭." Err, cute.
