Dolly Parton Applauds Beyoncé’s ‘Bold’ Jolene Rendition; Says It Would Be ‘Wonderful’ To Duet With Her At Grammys

Impressed by Beyoncé’s rendition of Jolene, Dolly Parton expressed openness to a duet at the 2025 Grammys. She acknowledged Beyoncé’s unique take on the song and praised her album Cowboy Carter.

Beyoncé took everyone by surprise by reworking Dolly Parton’s classic Jolene for her latest album, Cowboy Carter, which arrived this March. But guess who she impressed the most with the rendition? Dolly Parton herself.

“Well, I think that was very bold of her,” Parton told E! News of Beyoncé’s take on Jolene in an exclusive interview on May 31. “When they said she was gonna do Jolene, I expected it to be my regular one, but it wasn’t. But I love what she did to it. And as a songwriter, you love the fact that people do your songs no matter how they do them,” the veteran singer added.

For those out of the loop, Beyoncé turned Parton’s pleading version of Jolene into a sinister, no-nonsense warning shot at a woman coming after her man. “She wasn’t gonna go beg some other woman like I did,” Parton said, interpreting Beyoncé’s version of the song as, “Sh*t, get out here, b***h. You ain’t stealin’ mine.”

When asked if the veteran singer entertains the idea of dueting with Beyoncé at the 2025 Grammys, here is what she said!

“Why, of course, I would,” Parton said initially of the possibility of performing with B at the 2025 Grammys, before adding that it’ll only happen if she is available and not caught up in something that she cannot get out of. “That’d be wonderful. I mean, who wouldn’t wanna sing Jolene with Beyoncé,” the 9 to 5 singer expressed.

Elsewhere in the interview, Dolly P, however, noted that she would have loved to see how the Texas Hold Em’ singer would’ve done the song in its original way. But then, “You know it’s Beyoncé. Yeah, her life is different than mine,” she acknowledged. Parton also revealed that she was in touch with Beyoncé around the release of Cowboy Carter and that they sent each other “flowers and love notes and all that.”