Jill Scott announces return of her tour and surprises fans with tickets

Jill Scott is telling fans who she is — again.

The three time Grammy-winning artist told TODAY that she is hitting the road in the new year with her iconic album "Who Is Jill Scott: Words and Sounds, Vol. 1." The album, which was released in 2000, is famous for hit songs like “A Long Walk” and “Gettin’ in the Way.”

"Based off of all the Instagram comments, and the emails we've been receiving, I'm going to go on tour," she said.

Tickets for all 20 dates are on sale on her website and will kick off Feb. 28 in Georgia.

She planned to do an anniversary tour of the album in 2020 to celebrate the 20-year anniversary, but the pandemic derailed her timeline. Three years later, and the artist is celebrating that her original plan is back on.

"We were going to do the entire album from beginning to end because people really seemed to love it and we wanted to present it that way," she said. "It's great musicianship. It's a lot of energy and sincerity oozing all over the stage. I'm really excited for everyone who wants to sing along."

Scott said "it’s like a warm hug" when fans sing along. "It’s all fuzzy and delicious."

But before heading out on tour, Scott shared that she prioritized spending quality time with her son, Jett, 13.

“I like him. I really, really like him. I think he’s one of the coolest people I’ve ever met. He’s a lot of fun. We went on a trip to Botswana for his bro-mitzvah, yes,” she said, referring to the Jewish coming-of-age tradition at age 13. “And I gave him some Paris, and some Botswana and some Amsterdam and we had the time of our life. Just him and I because those teenage years go by fast.”

Getting back on stage means she has to get back into performance mode and that takes some time, she said, even with her experience and credentials.

"I'm terrified," she said. "It matters to me so I'm nervous. It's been two years. I haven't really been on many stages, so there's a lot of preparation internally as well as externally. I gotta get on the treadmill and sing on it."

The 50-year-old admitted that "it is taxing," but added that it's definitely worth it.

"It's also spirit lifting and I'm excited for that," she said smiling. "To have touched so many people — and the age brackets. Some people bring their 5-year-olds and there's 80-year-olds and that means a lot as a song writer. It means a lot as a vocalist and as a girl from North Philly. It matters."

TODAY co-host Sheinelle Jones agreed when Scott said her fan base is generational, so she brought in a mother-daughter duo in from the plaza who are both superfans.

And then they got the ultimate surprise: tickets to Scott's new tour.

"We wanted to surprise you both," co-anchor Craig Melvin said. "You're going to go see her show." They screamed and jumped in excitement.

"Let me tell you something, when you see Jill Scott in concert it's these two (and their excitement) times a million," Sheinelle shared.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com