Watch: Miley Cyrus Details Final Conversation With Godmother Dolly Parton
Harry Styles’ concert was a sign of the times.
After all, the entire nation and beyond is mourning the loss of Dolly Parton after her death on Aug. 25. It’s why the One Direction alum’s tribute during his opening night at Madison Square Garden was so poignant.
“I just wanna give a proper thank you to all the musicians who have inspired me over the years,” he said on stage during the Aug. 26 show, per Variety. “Dolly, we love you. Thank you so much.”
The shout out was followed by her song “I Will Always Love You” playing for a minute over the speakers, the audience waving their phone flashlights as they sang along.
Styles—whose Aug. 26 concert kicked off his 30-show residency at MSG for his Together, Together world tour—is just one of countless artists who have expressed their heartache at Parton’s loss and their gratitude for the creative legacy she built.
Among them was Beyoncé, who praised the late “Jolene” singer for her “tenacious” spirit.
“You taught so many lessons on how to be uniquely oneself,” the 44-year-old continued in her Aug. 25 statement. “I am grateful for your art, your heart, your generosity, your humor, your entrepreneurship. I’m honored that I had the privilege to work with you.”
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A constant theme among the many tributes made in Parton’s honor has been to praise her commitment to giving back, especially through the Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which provides books free of charge to kids through age 5.
As Taylor Swift noted in her statement, “Along with her other fans, I am so grateful for all of it. For the melodies and lyrics she wrote that thawed even the coldest hearts. For the millions of books she provided children all over the world so that they might fall in love with stories the way she did.”
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But no tribute was more poignant than that of Miley Cyrus, for whom Parton had been godmother. While the Hannah Montana alum said she’d keep her “most sacred moments” with the Queen of Country private, she did share insight into how she thinks Parton would want her to move forward.
“What I KNOW is Dolly would want me to feel it, write a song about it, and then continue on and be strong. I have an angel by my side,” she wrote on Instagram Aug. 26. “I always have. One of our last conversations was about music and metamorphosis.”
“My heart breaks for the world,” Cyrus concluded, “her family and friends who will miss her deeply. We’re in this loss together and we will see her in all of the most beautiful things.”
For more tributes shared in Parton’s honor, read on.
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“Later she shot a promo for her NBC Christmas special,” he continued, “and when she got on a stool wearing her short skirt she said to the audience, ‘I gotta be careful or else I’m gonna show y’all my box office!'”The former Saturday Night Live member praised Parton’s joke.”Too dirty for church, too clean for the bar,” he added. “Just like her, it was just right. What a light.”
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“If there’s someone you wanna look up to and model your life after, it’s Dolly,” Perry concluded. “Dolly was glam, funny, and kind as fuck. Her star will forever shine bright and I bet you she’s already remodeling them pearly gates with rhinestones.”
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