Kacey Musgraves Delivers Emotional Dolly Parton Tribute at 2026 MTV VMAs With ‘I Will Always Love You’
Kacey Musgraves paid a heartfelt tribute to Dolly Parton at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards, performing one of the late country icon’s most beloved songs just weeks after her death.
Musgraves performed Parton’s classic “I Will Always Love You” during Sunday night’s ceremony, honouring a singer whose influence stretched across generations of country and popular music.
Although Musgraves was not physically at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, her performance aired as part of the ceremony.
Parton, who died on August 25 at the age of 80, originally wrote and recorded “I Will Always Love You” in 1973. The song went on to reach No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart twice, first in 1974 and again in 1982.
The performance marked another deeply personal tribute from Musgraves, who had shared a long-standing connection with Parton.
Just days after Parton’s death, Musgraves honoured her during an August 28 concert in Boston, performing her own song “Rainbow” before covering Parton’s “Here You Come Again.”
Musgraves also looked back on their shared history in the years before Parton’s death.
The pair performed together during a special segment at the 2019 Grammys, while Musgraves was also among the presenters who honoured Parton with the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2016 CMA Awards.
Following Parton’s death, Musgraves shared an emotional message on X, writing: “Dolly. This really really hurts. … The world feels a lot less sparkly all of a sudden.”
She also reflected on Parton being reunited with her late husband, Carl Dean, and admitted she was struggling to process the loss.
The VMAs tribute therefore gave Musgraves another opportunity to honour the woman she had performed alongside and admired for years — this time on one of music’s biggest stages.
The 2026 ceremony, hosted by Snoop Dogg, also featured a tribute to the late George Michael, with performances from Raye, Sombr and Teddy Swims.
The 2026 VMAs aired live from Los Angeles on CBS and MTV and streamed on Paramount+ Premium in the US.