Billy Joel and John Mayer confess to ‘never liking’ their own voices: ‘Always disappointed’
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Billy Joel and John Mayer, two iconic names in the music industry, shared surprising reflections about their voices despite their celebrated careers.
The revelation was made during the inaugural episode of Mayer’s new interview series, 'How’s Life', on SiriusXM’s 'Life with John Mayer'.
Billy Joel admits he 'never liked' his voice, John Mayer echoes 'me too'
During the interview, John Mayer, 47, asked Billy Joel if he had ever wished to sing or write differently, referencing his own wish to sing Sting’s falsetto-driven track, 'If You Love Somebody Set Them Free'.
Mayer attempted to sing the song, stopping abruptly after the first line, and said, "I’ll never do it!” as seen in the video of the interview, per People.
He asked Joel if he "always felt like you still had to work within a range?"
Adding, "I know it’s a strange thing to say ‘you wished you had more’ when you have so many songs you’ve written that were incredible, but did you ever feel like, ‘Ah, if I only had a couple more notes I’d be able to get that out?’”
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Joel, 75, confessed he has always struggled with liking his own voice. “I always wanted to sing like somebody else — I never liked my own voice,” Joel said.
John Mayer and Billy Joel on this thought affecting live performances
John Mayer also echoed Billy Joel’s sentiment, replying to him with “Me, too."
“I would go in the studio and do a recording and I’d come back in the control room and listen — ‘Oh God, it’s that guy.’"
"I’m always disappointed — no matter how good I thought the writing was, I never liked my own voice. Always wanted to sound like somebody else," Joel explained.
Mayer then inquired whether Joel's sense of dissatisfaction also pertained to his live performances.
“Do you ever do the thing like a kid playing basketball in the driveway pretending he's an athlete? Do you reference other artists?” he inquired.
Joel admitted, “Yes, all the time. It’s flashes of people. Ray Charles, Sting … people with these wonderful voices. Even Elvis Costello — sometimes I’m trying to channel him. It’s all over the place.”
