Kacey Musgraves Pays Tribute to Dolly Parton With ‘I Will Always Love You’ at MTV VMAs

The MTV VMAs tribute to Dolly Parton on Sunday began with a heart-tugging video clip of Parton herself singing “I Will Always Love You,” with Kacey Musgraves harmonizing on the last lines. Then Musgraves, in her first appearance at the VMAs in five years, took over for a lovely solo piano-and-voice performance of Parton’s song.

Musgraves, who was wearing a glittery, Parton-worthy gown, pre-taped the performance — she was performing in Nashville at the Bridgestone Arena for her Middle of Nowhere tour the night of the VMAs.

Country acts are relatively rare at the VMAs, which only added a country category in 2025. Musgraves is up for the category this year for “Dry Spell.” Megan Moroney performed “Six Months Later” at last year’s awards, also taking home the Moon Person trophy, and Musgraves lit the stage on fire with a dramatic take on “Star-Crossed” in 2021. Parton herself never appeared at the VMAs, but she did lead an illustrious music-video career with classics like “9 to 5,” which featured clips of her movie co-stars Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin.

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Parton, who died Aug. 25, was a major source of inspiration for Musgraves; she called the country legend “a supernova of a person.” Musgraves has been paying tribute to her often on tour, covering “9 to 5” in New York and “Here You Come Again” in Boston and speaking to the audience about her impact.

“The world definitely lost a light, and it’s hard for me to talk about,” she told the crowd at Madison Square Garden. “And I know how much Dolly meant to everybody also in this room. I think why it feels so dark is it’s already hard to navigate these times right now, and then we lose a matriarch.”