The 2026 VMAs saved their most emotional moment for Dolly Parton. A month after the country legend died on August 25 at age 80, Kacey Musgraves stepped out in a fuchsia gown with feather-lined cuffs and a tower of Dolly-style hair to sing “I Will Always Love You,” the ballad Dolly wrote in 1974. According to Variety, the segment opened with archival footage of Dolly herself singing before Musgraves, 38, carried the song home.
It was Musgraves’ first VMAs appearance in five years, and she made it count. Host Snoop Dogg followed the performance with a simple verdict, per Variety: “Now, that’s how you honor a legend.”
Dolly Parton’s Song, Passed To The Next Generation
“I Will Always Love You” has now outlived its writer, which is exactly what Dolly always said songs were for. The tribute joins a season of farewells for the country icon. As we reported,
Feathers, big hair, and a room full of tears. Dolly would have recognized every bit of it.