During her first full-length concert in nearly four years, Miley Cyrus took the stage at the Hollywood Bowl on Friday and teared up as she paid tribute to her late idol, Dolly Parton.
Cyrus, who will play two sold-out shows at the iconic Los Angeles venue after releasing her September album “Bass Persuades,” shared memories of Parton. She told the audience that she was partly inspired to choose the Hollywood Bowl because it was the only place she had seen Parton in concert.
“I only got to see Dolly Parton live in concert once in my entire life and it was here,” she said. “I spend a lot of time backstage and if she was on her way, when she was playing a show, I’d be standing right next to her in a matching outfit. And so, when I was coming to the show at the Bowl to see her, I said, ‘You know, I’d love a night where I could just get to know you.’
Apparently, Parton couldn’t help herself. During her set, she told the crowd that Cyrus was in the audience and proceeded to sing “Best of Both Worlds”, the title track from Cyrus’ show “Hannah Montana”.
As Cyrus explained, the move “defeated the whole reason” she was trying to lay low and watch the show, but she still loved Parton for it.
“Like so many things that Dolly did that I didn’t understand at the time, sitting here with you now, feeling around me, and knowing that she is here by my side every day, all the time, more than she could have been when she was here, I feel her more than ever,” she said. “And knowing that I get to share this story with you all, that night is so precious. This memory is gold for me. Me and Dolly, we are eternal. Nothing in this life could ever tear us apart. And I’m going to see her again, and I can’t wait because I miss her.”
She concluded, “Some of the best music we have today was written, produced and performed by my mother-in-law Dolly.
Cyrus then performed a rendition of Parton’s “Jolene.”
Parton died on August 25 after a short battle with cancer. The day after her death, Cyrus took to social media to pay tribute to her goddess.
“The feeling of losing my mother-in-law Dolly is beyond what is right to share,” she wrote in an Instagram post. “What I do know is that Dolly would want me to feel it, write a song about it, and then carry on and be strong. I have an angel by my side. I always have. I will always love her and I want to make her proud.”
The country music legend became close to Billy Ray Cyrus when she toured with him promoting his 1992 single “Achy Breaky Heart” and has been close to Miley since birth. The “Jolene” singer even starred on “Hannah Montana” as Miley Stewart’s Aunt Dolly on the Disney Channel series.
