Just stunning.
On August 25, 2026, Dolly Parton sadly passed away at 80-years-old in Nashville Tennessee. Dolly had been dealing with undisclosed health issues for the last year or so, and she previously shared that she was having issues with severe kidney stones. Dolly’s reps confirmed she sadly died following a “brief battle with cancer,” though the specific kind was not revealed.
And last night during the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards, country music’s own in miss Kacey Musgraves honored the icon with an absolutely flawless rendition of Dolly’s iconic hit, “I Will Always Love You.”
Of course, it’s one of her most popular and legendary songs, which she first released in 1974. Her original solo version peaked at #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart later that year, and then rereleased it October 1982, with a re-recording for The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas soundtrack.
Most fans know that there’s so much more history to it, that starts back on the Porter Wagoner Show, where Dolly got her start in the music business… she decided to leave in 1973 to pursue a solo career, and Porter was not happy about it. She wrote the song as a parting gift of sorts before leaving to pursue a solo career, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Dolly famously turned down Elvis when he wanted to cut the song and acquire all the rights to it in the 70s, and Whitney Houston made it a worldwide mega hit when she recorded it for the The Bodyguard film in 1992. Her version spent a record-breaking 14 weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and became the best-selling single by a female artist of all time at that time.
Kacey has talked extensively over the years about how much Dolly inspired her as an artist, and while they never recorded a song together or anything like that, they did share the stage on a couple of occasions, first in 2019 at the Grammy Awards alongside Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, Maren Morris, and Little Big Town for a medley of Dolly’s biggest hits. In 2016 at the CMA Awards, Kacey was part of another all-star tribute honoring Dolly’s lifetime achievement award.
When Dolly passed, Kacey shared this sweet photo of the two of them:
Kacey’s tribute at the VMAs started out with an old video of Dolly from when her daytime show Dolly took place, as she performed “I Will Always Love You,” and after Dolly starting off the song, it transitioned to Kacey who sounded unreal. At the end, it transitioned back to Dolly saying goodbye, ending with a charming wink and her infectious laugh, making for a very emotional moment which you might want a tissue for.
There are very, very few people who I would ever want to hear cover “I Will Always Love You,” it’s a hard song to sing and the deep emotion you have to convey through your voice is something few artists can do on any level close to Dolly, and Whitney Houston and Chris Stapleton are the only other two that come to mind for me.
But after last night, I think I have to add Kacey to that list, who more than did Dolly justice with her performance. It was pure, understated, and vocally flawless, and just stunning all-around. The added video of Dolly at the beginning and end was perfect, and I will give it to the VMAs… they did an excellent job with this tribute.
Kacey also wore a very Dolly dress, which was a gorgeous pink number with plenty of rhinestones that would have certainly made Dolly proud, too.
Do yourself a favor and check it out, but grab a tissue first:
No one has or ever will do it like the queen, though, of course:
“I Will Always Love You”
