Musgraves Sings Dolly Parton's 'I Will Always Love You' at VMAs — SkimNews
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- Kacey Musgraves opened her VMAs tribute with a pre-taped video of Parton singing 'I Will Always Love You,' then harmonized on the final lines before performing a solo piano-and-voice rendition herself in a glittery, Parton-worthy gown.
- The performance was pre-taped because Musgraves was performing in Nashville at the Bridgestone Arena for her Middle of Nowhere tour the night of the VMAs; it marked her first VMAs appearance in five years.
- Musgraves is nominated for the VMAs' country category — a category the show only added in 2025 — for her song 'Dry Spell.'
- Dolly Parton, who died Aug. 25 and never appeared at the VMAs during her career, was described by Musgraves as 'a supernova of a person' during a Madison Square Garden stop on her tour.
- Musgraves has been covering Parton's catalog throughout her tour, including '9 to 5' in New York and 'Here You Come Again' in Boston, and told the MSG crowd that 'the world definitely lost a light.'
Why it matters: Musgraves' tribute came in a VMAs country category that didn't exist until 2025, and she's one of its inaugural nominees for 'Dry Spell.' By pre-taping a farewell to Parton from her Nashville tour stop, she turned a standard awards-show slot into the emotional anchor of the broadcast — just eight days after Parton's death.
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