Mary J. Blige to perform Saturday in Columbus

When the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul arrives in Columbus Saturday night, Mary J. Blige is bringing a celebration, she says.

"If you're a Mary J. Blige fan, you can expect a lot of everything I've done," she said this week. "You'll get old, new stuff, everything I can offer you. The artist, the person, the personality, fun. If you're a fan, that's what you're coming for."

Blige kicks off her tour today in Augusta and then will be at the Columbus Civic Center at 8 p.m. Saturday.

Tamar Braxton, the youngest sister of Grammy award-winner Toni Braxton and current "Dancing with the Stars" frontrunner, will open for Blige.

Ticket prices start at $57 with options at $67 and $77. Everyone who goes to the show will get a code for a free download of Blige's latest album, "The London Sessions," which was released last November.

Blige, 44, said her shows always are a lot of fun with a big band and "all live, all singing and all night."

"It's always a celebration because my fans and I, we're constantly trying to better ourselves, and we continue to push ourselves to the next level."

Her set is normally around two hours long.

"It's pretty long, but I've been in this business for a while," Blige said. "If I were to do everything everyone wanted, it would be five hours."

Blige, 44, is a nine-time Grammy-award winner known for the hits "Not Gon' Cry," "No More Drama" and "Be Without You," among

many others.

In addition to her Grammy awards, she has 30 Grammy nominations and has sold more than 50 million albums.

Known for her emotional performances, Blige said it's all about the journey. "It's not just emotional because we're happy to be happy with ourselves," she said.

"I'm finally loving Mary and understanding Mary and accepting Mary, and my fans are on the same path that I'm on. We're constantly on this journey, and we're trying to be the best you. It's always hard. We're coming out and coming up."

Once the tour is over, Blige will head back to New York to prepare for the role of Evillene, the Wicked Witch of the West, for NBC's live musical "The Wiz," which airs Dec. 3.

This story was originally published October 29, 2015 at 9:29 PM with the headline "Mary J. Blige to perform Saturday in Columbus ."