Alexa Ray Joel talks on '20/20' Friday
Alexa Ray Joel appears at The Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett on June 21.
Being the daughter of music legend Billy Joel and supermodel Christie Brinkley may have provided creature comforts, but it didn't prevent Alexa Ray Joel from suffering heartbreak and depression, she says in a wide-ranging interview to promote her first album, "Notice Me."
Speaking with Chris Cuomo for a segment on Friday's "20/20" on ABC, the 24-year-old pianist and singer-songwriter opened up on a variety of topics.
On growing up with
famous parents
"I was always comparing myself to my parents, and my father in particular because he's an artist. How can I live up to this, how can I compare? And what I've realized this year is, I don't have to compare myself to him; I'm my own artist."
On her 'suicide' scare,
after splitting with her
boyfriend of four years
"I was genuinely so distraught, and in so much pain. It was near the holidays. I was upset. I don't want to, like, call and bother anyone with this anymore, 'cause I'm so sick of this pain, let me just go to sleep."
On recovering with
her parents' help
"I knew with my mom that she was feeling the pain I was going through. . . . She's just such a compassionate, empathetic woman. . . . And so she was feeling the trauma as I was feeling it, and then as I was feeling better, she was feeling it, so she was living it with me. And my father, he has such perspective, he was like, 'You got to see outside of this. You're an intelligent, talented, beautiful woman.' "
