How Abbott Elementary Scored An Appearance From A Three-Time Grammy Winner

Only a few episodes remain of hit TV show Abbott Elementary Season 4, and the special guest appearances continue to grow. In the recent episode, titled “Ava Fest: Tokyo Drift,” a cameo like never before took place.

The premise of the episode is that of the school’s teachers trying to raise money for their students. When their efforts are largely in vain, former principal Ava Coleman steps in to fix the situation—and with her comes an unexpected musical artist.

Janelle James as Ava in Abbott Elementary — Gilles Mingasson via Disney

Jill Scott Did A Guest Spot

When the school’s teachers run a very unsuccessful car wash, raising less money than they spent on supplies and accidentally scaring off a majority of their customers by setting off a fake police siren, they feel like their luck has run out. It’s only then that Ava, their former principal, steps in and decides to take the situation into her own hands.

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It’s Ava’s idea to turn the situation into a “block party,” naming the bash after herself in traditional Ava fashion. She calls upon the rest of the teachers to turn their skills into payable functions, like face painting and fortune-telling. And anyone else who has a useful connection, she says, should reach out to them as soon as possible.

This is how the episode’s special guest came to be. In the storyline, the character of Barbara says she can reach out to a connection from her church to see if they can get a singer. At first, the group is skeptical of whom the church will send, but it turns out to be three-time Emmy winner Jill Scott, who shows up to the hallways of Abbott Elementary to save the day.

Chris Perfetti, Larry Owens and Matteo Lane

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Jill, who plays herself, tells the group that she’s happy to pay Barbara back for her efforts:

This lady has gone above and beyond to make my godmother feel welcome in the choir, and she can’t even sing. It’s the least I could do.

Jill Performed Her Hit Song ‘Golden’

In order to make the event worthwhile (and worth paying for a ticket), Jill performed her hit single, “Golden,” marching down the hallway as she sang and getting the crowd worked up. By the end of the episode, thanks to the singer’s help, the group is able to meet their fundraising goals. (It helps that Ava apparently charged attendees more than it would’ve cost to attend a regular Jill Scott concert.)

“The Lord works in mysterious ways,” Ava tells Barbara, who tells the cameras, “I knew He had a plan when he brought Jill Scott’s godmother to our church choir, and it wasn’t because we needed a crackly soprano.”

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Because it’s Abbott Elementary, the episode couldn’t end without things getting slightly ridiculous. There’s a running joke that Jill travels with a security guard after having some creepy interactions with fans. At one point, she even describes that a strange fan used to steal bizarre items from her, including, of all things, her ear monitors:

Like, what you gon’ do with ear monitors?

It’s only after Jill has saved the day, towards the end of the episode, that it’s revealed that her superfan is none other than the school’s janitor, Mr. Johnson. He reveals to Jill that he has a small shrine to her in his cleaning closet, including a caricature sketch of the two of them. As Jill puts it together that Mr. Johnson is her superfan, spotting her ear monitors as well as the scarf he once stole from her mid-performance, she slowly backs away, calling upon her security guard for support.

Abbott Elementary cast — via Rotten Tomatoes

Only two more episodes remain in Season 4 of Abbott Elementary. Several questions remain for the rest of the characters, the biggest of which is whether Ava will be able to return to her post as principal of the public school or whether she’ll be forced to find another path. Meanwhile, Gregory must decide if he’ll be able to continue as the interim principal in her absence, facing criticism from others for the way that he runs the job.

New episodes of the show are available every Wednesday on ABC as well as on Hulu the following day.