Billy Joel is a really popular among the most successful musicians of all time. Since his start in the mid-1960s, he has survived in this highly competitive industry while breaking records and selling out stadiums with fans of all ages and races. Back in July of 2015 the “Piano Man” broke the record for the “most number of performances by any artist,” per Broadway World at Madison Square Garden. Before him Elton John held the title.
Surprisingly, there is always one part of his shows that never sells out even though fans can never get enough — the front row seats. In September 2020, a viral post on Instagram answered this question. The post said that Joel had gotten tired of “bored, rich people staring up at him.” It was later confirmed by Billy Joel’s daughter.
Joel saves the front row seats for those “real fans” who bought the nosebleed tickets because he wants to be with such fans. He feels that these are the fans who really want to be there and that gives him more energy to perform and makes the performance lively.
This practice of reserving tickets for fans, is not followed by just Joel. The musical has a lottery system in which fans can enter to win front row seats. Even Hamilton, like Billy Joel, had a problem with the scalpers buying all of the tickets, which prevents fans who have less financial means from watching the show as easily as the others.
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