Carly Pearce And Kristin Chenoweth Honor Dolly Parton With Energetic “9 To 5” Tribute
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Stars Gather To Remember Dolly Parton
A star-studded lineup of musicians and entertainers gathered Wednesday, Oct. 21, to pay tribute to country music icon Dolly Parton during a special television event celebrating her legendary career.
The Country Music Association (CMA) and ABC announced the lineup on Oct. 2 for CMA Presents I Will Always Love You: A Celebration of Dolly Parton. The two-hour live special brought together performers from country music, bluegrass and Broadway to honor the beloved singer and songwriter.
Proceeds from the special will benefit Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, the country star’s book-gifting initiative that provides free books to children from birth through age five.
Operated by The Dollywood Foundation, the program has grown into the world’s leading early childhood book-gifting organization, helping foster a love of reading among young children and their families.
Carly Pearce Honors Dolly Parton
Among the evening’s special moments was an incredibly emotional performance by country star Carly Pearce.
Dolly always held a very special place in Carly’s heart. At just 16 years old, Carly was performing at Dollywood in Tennessee when she met the country music legend for the first time.
Throughout her career, shes performed a number of Dolly’s songs, and later Dolly played a pivotal role in her career by personally inviting her to join the Grand Ole Opry in 2021.
Our very own @DollyParton shared some special news with @CarlyPearce! We’ll give you a hint…YOU’RE LOOKING AT THE NEXT MEMBER OF THE GRAND OLE OPRY! Official induction date set for August 3! Check out the moment it all happened. https://t.co/fLiArEdUhT
— Grand Ole Opry (@opry) June 23, 2021
Ahead of Wednesday’s big show, Carly posted a throwback to her Instagram Stories, showing an image of her and Dolly along with herself as a little girl at Dollywood.
Before singing “9 to 5,” Carly Pearce took the stage at the CMA tribute to Dolly Parton, and she wasn’t alone.
Joined by Kristin Chenoweth, both shared how Dolly was a part of their life and careers.
Reflecting on growing up as a fan of Dolly, Carly said, “From the beginning, I always wanted to look just like her: the makeup, the shoes, the clothes, the hair.”
Taking a pause, Carly then motioned toward herself, and said, “But I just didn’t have … the assets.”
Chiming in, Kristin said, “Well, you know, Carly, Dolly called hers ‘shock’ and ‘awe,’ you could call yours ‘dumb’ and ‘dumber.'”
From there, they then turned their attention to Dolly’s song “9 to 5,” which was, of course, the theme song for the hit 1980 film.
Sharing the story of how the song came about, Carly shared that Dolly “realized her long acrylic nails clicked just like a typewriter.”
The rest is history, with that sound becoming a reflection of women in the workplace.
With the set decked out with the cityscape of 9 to 5 behind them, Carly and Kristin proceeded to perform the beloved song.
See some of their performance of “9 to 5,” here:
This article will be updated with full video of their performance when it becomes available.
RELATED: Vince Gill & Friends Deliver Tear-Jerking Tribute To Dolly Parton During CMA TV Special
