Billy Joel to Host First Live Call-In Special on SiriusXM
Billy Joel will host his first-ever live call-in special on The Billy Joel Channel on Thursday, Sept. 24.
The live programme starts at 2 p.m. ET, which is Eastern Time in the United States. That is 2 p.m. in New York and 11 a.m. in Los Angeles. Listeners will get the chance to speak with Joel directly, ask him questions and hear his replies in real time, Billboard reported.
Fans have two ways to take part. Questions can be sent in advance as video, voice or text through the page siriusxm.com/askbilly. During the broadcast itself, listeners can call 1-844-365-BILLY to join the queue and put a question to Joel live. The number spells BILLY on a telephone keypad.
The special will air on SiriusXM, the American subscription radio service that broadcasts by satellite and internet app. The Billy Joel Channel is on Channel 93. It will be available on satellite radios and through the SiriusXM app through Sept. 30, giving listeners a week after the live call to catch related programming.
The live call is part of the channel's current return to the service. That return includes new shows hosted by Joel, exclusive specials and a celebration of the 50th anniversary of Turnstiles, his album first released in 1976, according to SiriusXM. The channel mixes music with archive material, interviews and host-led shows.
Joel is familiar with the format. In 2019, SiriusXM subscribers could call the same 1-844-365-BILLY number to ask him questions during SiriusXM Presents Billy Joel Live From Miami Beach, a live event held on Dec. 5 that year, according to billyjoel.com. He also appeared on a special edition of the weekly call-in show Fab Fourum to reflect on the lasting impact of John Lennon.
The format is simple. A call-in special is a live radio programme where listeners phone in and the host answers on air. Advance submissions let producers include video, voice and text questions alongside live calls.
For fans, this means direct access. No setlist. No filter. Listeners who get through will hear their exchange as it happens, and those who submit early still have a route in if they cannot get to a phone at 2 p.m.
