Dolly Parton might be a fan of Beyoncé’s version of “Jolene,” but it is not landing quite the same as others.
“Wow, I just heard ‘Jolene.’ Beyoncé is giving that girl some trouble and she deserves it! Love, Dolly P.”
While The View’s Joy Behar praises the new version of the classic Parton track, calling the original “anti-feminist,” former Fox News host Megyn Kelly does not share the same sentiments. The journalist and host of The Megyn Kelly Show says that the pop star put a feminist twist on the 1973 track that is “bass-awkwards.”
While Kelly notes that she can acknowledge that Beyoncé is a good performer but does not get the hype around Queen Bey’s “reviving country music.”
“She decides to take a step into the country lane, and it’s like ‘country music has been remade! Remade!’ Is it? We have a new player in country music. Country music has been around for a long, long time. It goes right to the heart of America. And most Americans in red states have been loving it and enjoying it before she stuck her big toe in the lane.”
She then notes that she feels as though Beyoncé called up many people, asking them to back her album, but Kelly’s biggest bone to pick is about “Jolene.” Kelly breaks down the original track that Parton recorded about an insecure window into the heart of the woman begging “Jolene” not to take her man. Jolene clearly thinks that his woman is more attractive than she is, but instead of threatening the woman, she pleads with the woman to leave her alone because this is her man.
“It’s an interesting window into an insecure woman’s heart. It’s also kind of clever because she flatters Jolene like it’s a smart but insecure woman. Anyway, that is the story of the song. Or at least it used to be.
Queen Bey got her hands on the song, and God forbid she sings anything that makes her look less than all empowered with the muscle. And so she’s now got to change it to ‘if you come by my man, I’m basically going to beat the hell out of you.’
She turned ‘Jolene’ into her version of a badass, because that’s what modern-day ‘feminism’ looks like, completely missing that the true power move is to write a song about ‘Jolene’ not even worrying about this. She has no worries because her man loves her and is committed to her and would never cheat.”
Kelly thinks that her rough and tough take on the song is only further projecting that she isn’t tough or secure in her relationship.
“She’s gotta pretend she’s tough, which only telegraphs top those paying attention, that she isn’t. The whole thing is bass-ackwards and I object.”
Fair or foul?
Her co-host on the news clip then suggests that if you are looking for a “new version” of the song, check out Miley Cyrus’s take. I agree with him… her cover is highly underrated.
If Beyoncé’s version is not your cup of tea, fire this one up.
