Honoring the late, great Dolly Parton.
The country icon sadly passed away on on August 25, 2026 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. Aside from that, she understandably didn’t share more, though it has since been revealed that she suffered a “brief battle with cancer.”
She made an incredible impact on this world, and tons of artists, from country music and beyond, and plenty of artists have honored her since her passing, both from the country genre and pretty much every other genre too.
This week, the Country Music Association paid tribute to Dolly with the televised show “CMA Presents I Will Always Love You: A Celebration of Dolly Parton,” which included Ella Langley covering “Jolene.”
Of course, the story beyond “Jolene” is well-known, because it’s about a real life woman who was getting a little too flirty with Dolly’s husband Carl Dean at the bank. Released in 1973, it was one of her first big hit singles, and served as the title track for her 13th studio album. She famously wrote it at the same time in 1972 that she wrote her other massive hit, “I Will Always Love You.”
She did change part of the arrangement from the original, and it was the second time Ella has covered the song:
Ella got mixed reviews on the performance, with many fans commenting that this maybe wasn’t the right song for her in terms of it matching her vocal ability, as well as her style as an artist in general.
Although, to be fair, Dolly Parton generally sang in a higher register than the average, which is why we saw multiple artists including Kelsea, Lady A and Ella drop it down a little or make a key change. If you don’t hit the big Dolly notes, then of course it won’t have the same feel.
I’ve personally heard very few people really blow me away with a cover of “Jolene,” Dolly’s goddaughter, Miley Cyrus, being one of them.
Here’s some of the comments:
“She looks beautiful, but respectfully, I don’t feel that her vibe (even as a country singer) matches with this song.”
“For the life of me I don’t understand why this lady’s singing is so popular. I agree with others who say Miley should have sang this song.”
“I like Ella but was not crazy about this rendition. She just doesn’t have the same powerful voice.”
“This was not the right dolly song choice for her voice (and i like her voice but this ain’t it).”
“Love ya Ella but this song ain’t for you and neither is the fit.”
“Love Ella but this sucked. The performance the fit the vibe everything.”
“Yeah Miley should have been there and done this song.”
“Why are we embarrassing Dolly so bad by letting her tear this song apart? Horrible.”
“I like Ella Langley, but not on this song…”
“The most uncomfortable performance.”
“Miley sings this better. No shade to Ella but this isn’t it.”
“This is the most annoying performance I have ever seen. Terrible.”
“Sorry, but bland.”
“Well, that was rough.”
“Ooh she’s vocally flat here. Perhaps this song wasn’t quite the right fit for her.”
“This was terrible.”
There were some supportive comments too, with plenty of fans loving it:
“OH SHE SLAYED THIS PERFORMANCE.”
“I love that she did it her way just as Dolly would have wanted. She supported other women in every aspect so for anyone bashing Ella – you should show your love and respect and Be More Dolly.”
“Ya do know these singers aren’t trying to be Dolly. They are paying tribute to her by singing her songs.”
“She made this her own and crushed it! Dolly would be so proud a great tribute to her tonight.”
“Ella was amazing! Loved this performance!”
“Excellent and beautiful!”
I watched the whole special, and honestly, it felt just a little lackluster as a whole. There were a few really, really good performances from artists like Ashley McBryde, Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood, but overall, I think it was… just fine.
Of course, Dolly absolutely deserves to be honored, but she was such an incredible talent that it’s hard for anyone to really do her justice… and I was pretty disappointed with what the Country Music Association put together. Ella is on top of the world, she’s obviously an incredibly talented artist, so I think there’s a also a certain group of people who just like hating on her right now.
Personally, I thought Ella’s cover of “Jolene” during her show in song in Auburn in August was much better, and this arrangement fit her voice and style much better.
You can watch Ella’s full performance here:
