Singer-songwriter John Mayer has put his hiatus behind him. A serious vocal cord ailment sidelined Mayer almost three years ago, but on Friday, he put on his first television performance in recent years and more than made up for the long break.
The seven-time Grammy winner wowed the crowd on the TODAY Plaza as he kicked off a three-song set with his 2006 hit "Waiting On the World to Change." He then went on to explain one of the big changes he had to face -- the treatment for vocal woes.
"I went to the doctor, and he said he could put Botox in my vocal cords, and I said, 'Let's schedule a day to do that. Put me under and let's do that.'" Mayer recalled. But he soon learned the procedure wouldn't go exactly as he expected to. "He said, 'I don't put you under. We put it right in your neck.'"
Although the treatment necessitated a break, Mayer took comfort in the fact that he knew he'd be back.
"Thankfully, I always knew there was going to come a day when I'd sing again," he said. "It was just a matter of when."
And how. Mayer's voice is back, but it's not quite the same as it once was.
"It's different now, just because ... the Botox is sort of clearing out," he explained. "It's a gift that keeps unwrapping itself every month. I go, 'Oh, I can sing this song now!' So it looks as if there's certain songs I won't play. It's just I can't (yet)."
Mayer went on to perform "Paper Dolls," the first single from his upcoming release "Paradise In the Valley." He also addressed the recent rumors that the track just might be about another storytelling singer (who might have written a song about him too). Well, sort of.
"Yeah, songwriters write songs because of people, about people," he said without naming any names. "Anything someone else wrote is their reception of a song. I don’t get involved with (it). It's none of my business."
See the full chat and the performances in the clips above. And check out our favorite tweets and Instagrams from fans on the plaza and at home below.