Kacey Musgraves Honors Dolly Parton With a Heartfelt ‘I Will Always Love You’ at VMAs 2026

Kacey Musgraves honored the late country music legend Dolly Parton during the 2026 MTV VMAs on Sunday (Sept 27), with a performance of one of Parton’s most legendary songs.

The performance started off with an older video clip of Parton herself offering words of encouragement while singing a snippet of “I Will Always Love You.” Then, the camera focused on Musgraves, who performed in honor of the late country icon.

Dressed in a reddish-pink gown with feathered cuffs, Musgraves paid tribute with a heartfelt, piano-backed version of “I Will Always Love You.” During her performance, the background was a simple white sheer curtain and images of glittery butterflies, which were part of Parton’s signature branding.

The performance concluded with a video clip of Parton smiling, waving and offering her signature dulcet laugh, before saying, “I will always love you.”

“Now, that’s how you honor a legend,” MTV VMAs host Snoop Dogg said in praise of Musgraves’ performance. “We love you, Dolly. If you love Dolly Parton, make some noise!”

Parton released “I Will Always Love You” as a solo performance in 1974, followed by a duet version with Vince Gill in 1995. One of pop music’s most illustrious vocalists, Whitney Houston, performed a cover version of “I Will Always Love You” as part of the soundtrack to the film The Bodyguard. Houston’s rendition became a global sensation, spending 14 weeks atop the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 after it was released in 1992.

Parton died on Aug. 25 at age 80, following a private cancer battle. Many cities across the country honored Parton with Dolly Day on Sept. 25 (aka 9/25). In Nashville, some crosswalks were painted pink, while various city landmarks lit up in pink and many honky-tonks across the city played Parton’s “9 to 5” right at 5 p.m.. Later in the evening, Nashville lit up with pink-hued fireworks to celebrate the country superstar.