Kacey Musgraves Honors Dolly Parton With 'I Will Always Love You' — SkimNews
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- Kacey Musgraves performed 'I Will Always Love You' at the 2026 MTV VMAs in a pre-taped segment that opened with archival footage of Dolly Parton introducing the 1974 song with advice about marriage and life.
- Parton began singing the chorus before Musgraves joined in at a piano, standing at the mic with her eyes closed as the audience responded with thunderous applause.
- Musgraves had already honored Parton on her 'Middle of Nowhere' tour, dedicating 'Rainbow' to her at Boston's TD Garden and covering 'Here You Come Again' and '9 to 5' at Madison Square Garden just days later.
- At MSG, Musgraves told the crowd she was 'never gonna be over it,' calling Parton 'the closest thing we've ever had to royalty' and 'a light' lost during already difficult times.
- Musgraves previously shared a stage with Parton at the 2019 MusiCares Person of the Year gala, duetting on 'Here You Come Again' alongside Katy Perry before Parton joined them in a white dress with flowing sleeves.
- In a 2021 Rolling Stone interview, Musgraves cited Parton as a 'style icon' and 'businesswoman' who 'didn't ever need to shrink her flamboyant nature to fit among the men that she worked with.'
Why it matters: By airing a pre-taped duet just weeks after Parton's August death, MTV framed one of its biggest annual stages around mourning a generational country artist — and Musgraves, who has repeatedly covered Parton's catalog on tour and once shared the MusiCares stage with her, became the natural vehicle for that salute, anchoring a commercial awards show around a legacy tribute rather than a new release.
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