Lainey Wilson Honors Her “Hero,” Dolly Parton, With Lively “9 To 5” Cover

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During her iHeartRadio Music Festival set, Lainey Wilson delivered a heartfelt tribute to her "hero," late country music icon Dolly Parton. (Photo credit: Jeff Kravitz / FilmMagic via Getty Images)

“I wrote a song for one of my dearest friends … and her name is Dolly Parton,” said Lainey Wilson during her Sept. 19 set at the iHeartRadio Music Festival.

Describing Dolly Parton as “the lady that I look to for everything,” Lainey Wilson‘s set included a heartfelt tribute to the late country music icon.

Performing her own song about Dolly Parton, titled “WWDD,” she also performed a cover of Dolly’s 1980 hit title track to the film 9 to 5.

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Lainey Wilson Performs Tribute To Dolly Parton At iHeartRadio Music Festival

Held on Sept. 19 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, the crowd cheered upon hearing Lainey Wilson say the name of the late country music icon Dolly Parton, who passed away at the age of 80 on Aug. 25.

Calling Dolly her “hero,” Lainey added, “Just watching her from afar before I even knew her, her style, her sense of humor, her personality, she was a badass business woman.”

Continuing, she said:

“She treated people with love, she would give you the shirt off her back, and, after getting to know her, you know, they say ‘never meet your heroes?’ But that did not count with Dolly Parton. She was better than I could have ever imagined.”

Expressing how thankful she was to have gotten to know Dolly, Lainey then introduced her song “WWDD,” quipping, “Y’all see what I did with them double D’s?”

She then looked to the audience and said, “What would Dolly do?”

During the performance, a montage of photos of Dolly was projected on the screen behind Lainey.

As her performance of “WWDD” ended, she then went right into a lively cover performance of “9 to 5.”

When she concluded her performance honoring Dolly, she told the audience, “That was fun. I knew we would get along just fine. If you don’t like Dolly Parton, something’s wrong with you, right?”

Watch her full tribute to Dolly, here:

Youtube video

RELATED: Lainey Wilson Honors 9/11 Victims With Powerful “Amazing Grace” Performance

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About the Author

Grant Bromley

Howdy, I’m Grant, a multimedia storyteller and lover of the arts. Whether it’s Copland’s ballet Rodeo or Peckinpah’s iconic Western Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, I have an appreciation for works that engage with the American mythos. Covering news, I help tell the stories that define our shared tomorrow.

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