Billy Joel Discusses the ‘Mystery’ of His Longevity on New John Mayer Interview Show

John Mayer and Billy Joel discuss the surreal luck of longevity in music in the first look at Mayer’s new interview series for SiriusXM, How’s Life. 

The show is set to premiere this Thursday, Nov. 28, on the singer-songwriter’s “Life With John Mayer” station at 8 p.m. ET. Following the debut conversation with Joel, future episodes will feature interviews with Shawn Mendes and Maren Morris.

The clip from Mayer’s conversation with Joel opens with the former asking the latter about the astonishing long-tail of his touring career, especially considering Joel hasn’t put out a new studio album since 2001 (he did, however, drop a new single, “Turn the Lights Back On,” earlier this year). Joel — who’s set to play a whole bunch of stadium shows with Stevie Nicks and Sting next year — said his success remained “a total mystery” to him.

Joel went on to say that he expected interest in his historic, years-long residency at Madison Square Garden to “diminish” over time, but instead, he saw increased demand the longer it went on. Mayer suggested the continued interest was fueled by a younger generation eager to see Joel live for the first time while also positing the hypothesis that no one ever came to “render [Joel] obsolete.”

Asking Joel if he ever worried that a “bigger, better, stronger, faster Billy Joel” would replace him, Joel replied: “I think I thought that around the early Eighties, late Seventies, when New Wave started coming in. Like a guy like Joe Jackson — I really liked his album and said, ‘Oh, he’ll replace me.’”

Even still, Joel did not evince any complacency: “I don’t think I ever relax about it,” he said. “Where I’m at in the history of things, on the charts, or anything. I never take that for granted. It always surprises me that we’re still doing this. I’m 75 years old — I thought you got kicked out.”

Just last month, Mayer joined Joel on stage in Los Angeles, where they performed “This Is the Time.” The pair previously played the 1986 tune together in 2008, when Joel played the final concert at New York City’s Shea Stadium.

Mayer launched his “Life With John Mayer” SiriusXM channel a year ago. The station features a mix of Mayer’s favorite music, collaborations, and never-before-heard material. In the lead-up to the premiere of How’s Life on Thanksgiving Day, Mayer will be broadcasting live, taking calls, and playing music from 2 p.m. ET to 8 p.m. ET.