Watch Kacey Musgraves Sing Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” at the 2026 VMAs

Tonight at the MTV Video Music Awards, Kacey Musgraves took the stage to deliver a tribute to Dolly Parton, who died last month at the age of 80. At her first VMAs performance in five years, Musgraves sang “I Will Always Love You.” Watch the homage below.

It’s not the first time Musgraves has honored Parton onstage. Since Parton’s death on August 25, Musgraves has covered the late country icon’s music at multiple stops on her Middle of Nowhere tour, tackling the 1977 hit “Here You Come Again” at a show in Boston and “9 to 5” at New York’s Madison Square Garden. “I’m not over it, and I’m never gonna be over it,” Musgraves said during the latter performance. “The world definitely lost a light, and it’s hard for me to talk about.”

Musgraves is up for Best Country Music Video this year for the visual accompanying her Middle of Nowhere track “Dry Spell.” Although she has never won a VMA, she’s been nominated twice before: for Best Longform Video and Best Art Direction for 2022s Star Crossed: The Film.

Revisit Lily Goldberg’s Saturday Track review of Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You.”

Hattie Lindert is an associate staff writer at Pitchfork. A former editor at Resident Advisor, she has written for Rolling Stone, The FACE and The A.V. Club, among others. She’s based in New York, and born and raised in Vermont. ... Read More