Alexa Ray Joel: After Hitting ‘Rock Bottom’ With Suicide Attempt, Singer Lands Gig Of A Lifetime

Alexa Ray Joel hit rock bottom on December 5, 2009.

On that day, she was reeling from the end of a relationship and went into a panic attack. She had experienced this before when she was younger, and took between 10 and 15 homeopathic pills over the course of three hours in an attempt to quell the attack. Later Alexa would call 911, telling the dispatcher that she wanted to die.

Looking back, Alexa Ray Joel said it was a low and confusing time, a point she calls “rock bottom.”

But today the singer is about as far from that point as possible. After her suicide attempt, the daughter of singer Billy Joel got into intensive therapy and threw herself into her music.

This week, Alexa Ray Joel marked a milestone in her career. While her father is used to playing sold-out stadiums and tours with Elton John, Alexa found the gig of her lifetime at the Cafe Carlyle.

Alexa will have a 12-day residency there are the beginning of April. The venue, on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, is small but has played host to some other big names, including cabaret singer Bobby Short.

The younger Joel has played storied venues before. In 2011 she had a residency at the Oak Room in Manhattan’s Plaza Hotel.

Alexa credits much of her comeback to the support of her parents, Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley.

“Dad always builds me up; he helped me get perspective back,” Alexa said. “My mom and I have more heart-to-hearts now… I’m in a Zen good place.”

Alexa Ray Joel also has a six-song EP out titled Sketches, and has a single called “Notice Me.”