Kelly Clarkson is mourning the tragic loss of country music icon Dolly Parton, who passed away on August 25 at the age of 80. The “American Idol” alum shared a touching tribute to one of her musical inspirations and “The Kelly Clarkson Show” shared a video of the two singing a duet of “I Will Always Love You.”
Kelly Clarkson’s Tribute to Dolly Parton: ‘I Will Miss Her Heart & Her Voice’
Following the news of Parton’s death, Clarkson took to Instagram to share a touching tribute to the country star.
“Dolly Parton had a way of making everyone feel special, and seen, and welcomed, and as if you were old friends,” she wrote.
“I will miss her heart and her voice as I am sure millions will,” Clarkson noted.
She added, “What an incredible gift and talent she was and still is with an amazing catalogue of art she has left behind for all of us.”
Fans flooded the comments section, sharing their sadness over the news.
“May she rest in peace with the rest of our loved ones. She’s singing a heavenly tune 💙💙🙏🏼🕊️,” one fan wrote.
Another fan commented, “I’m sorry for your loss Kelly. 💔”
“A true legend. They just don’t make them like her anymore!! What a loss 😢,” another fan shared.
‘Kelly Clarkson Show’ Shares Clarkson & Dolly Parton Duet Video
On August 25, before the news of Parton’s death, “The Kelly Clarkson Show” Instagram account shared a video of the host singing a duet with Parton.
“Best of Kelly: ‘I Will Always Love You’ duet with Dolly Parton 🥲 (Season 4),” the caption noted.
In the clip, Clarkson noted, “One of your biggest hits was ‘I Will Always Love You’ … you did write that.”
“Do you remember the first time you heard Whitney [Houston’s] version?” the host asked. “‘Cause I grew up hearing yours, and then all of a sudden ‘The Bodyguard’ happened. I’m just curious — what was your first [impression] because it’s your baby.”
Parton responded, “Yes. Well, there’s a little story about that. When they were doing ‘The Bodyguard’ movie, they had chosen another song for the theme song and someone came out with that very song right when they were about to put the movie out.”
She continued, “They were really trying to find a great song, and Kevin Costner and his secretary, they said, ‘Do you remember Dolly Parton’s song of ‘I Will Always Love You’? It’s a country song, but it’s a beautiful song. And so they called me to see if they could use it and I said yes.”
“And I didn’t hear anything else about it,” she added. “I didn’t know if they had it, I didn’t know if they had done it.”
As she was driving her car one day, Parton heard the song on the radio.
“I just freaked out,” she said of Houston’s singing. “I had to pull over to the side because I honestly thought I was gonna wreck. It was the most overwhelming feeling.”
The country legend also pointed out that Clarkson nailed the song at the Academy of Country Music Awards. “That whole crowd, Whitney … she would’ve been so proud of you, because I felt like she was watching you,” Parton said. “You absolutely killed it.”
“It was incredible and I was so emotional,” she added.
Parton and Clarkson then broke into a spontaneous duet of the classic song.
On the first night of her “Studio Sessions” Las Vegas residency in 2025, Clarkson sang “I Will Always Love You” at Parton’s request.
The country star commented on one of Clarkson’s Instagram posts in June: “Hey Kelly, I think you should sing ‘I Will Always Love You’ because I think you do one of the best versions of that song that I have ever heard … Whitney and I would both be proud …”
During the encore at her show, Clarkson shared, “Here’s the thing. This is how much I love Dolly Parton because when Dolly Parton asks you to sing something, you just shut your mouth and do it.”
