When Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton kicked off 2023 by co-hosting Miley's New Year's Eve party , fans predicted it would be a great year. The Goddaughter and Godmother's duet on "Wrecking Ball" was so catchy that it inspired calls for a studio version. Now, those wishes have come true, as the two superstar singers celebrated each other with heartfelt compliments following the release of "Wrecking Ball ft. Miley Cyrus" on October 19.
On October 20, Parton posted a video on social media paying tribute to Cyrus' original version of the 2013 song. She compared hearing the song for the first time to hearing Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" for the first time. Both times, Parton happened to be driving and she was so moved that she "almost crashed." The chorus of "Wrecking Ball," in particular, made her think, "Well, how great can a song be?" she said.
When Parton decided to make her highly anticipated rock album , Rockstar , she decided to cover it. "I thought, I have to have this song on my rock album and I have to get Miley to sing it with me!" the country music icon captioned her Instagram caption.
The surge is mutual
Cyrus is very supportive of this collaboration. “I grew up listening to Aunt Dolly [sic] music and it was such an honor to hear her sing one of my songs,” she wrote on Instagram, adding, “You can Heard so much sweetness and love.”
"Aunt Dolly" saw Cyrus' post and responded in the comments, telling her how much their close relationship means to her. "We always say sweet things to each other, but you are so special to me, Miley!" she wrote. "I know sometimes it sounds exaggerated to people, like fake and not real, but it's really real. I just love what you said about our "Wrecking Ball" duet, and I feel the same way a feeling of!"
Parton further praised her goddaughter, even calling her "the most gifted person" she's ever known. "I want to say again how proud I am of this record, but most importantly, how proud I am of you and our relationship," she added.
rock star connection
The close connection between the two artists is well documented. Their most memorable collaborations include Parton's guest appearance on Cyrus' Disney sitcom Hannah Montana in the early 2000s, their 2017 duet "Rainbowland" (Parton's actual voicemail for her goddaughter ), and of course their 2023 New Year's Eve performance.
"She's the best," the "Jaded" singer told Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show in December 2022 about working with her godmother. “She had an unparalleled graciousness in every room.”
Parton apparently feels the same way. During her rock star days, she looked to Cyrus for fashion advice. "My friend Miley, she gives me some advice on things," Parton told Mo Heart on Amazon Music's Walk In series. With Cyrus's ideas and the help of her longtime creative director Steve Summers, Parton found the balance between being "as sexy as possible for [her] age" while "maintaining good taste."
Listen to Parton and Cyrus' "Wrecking Ball" duet below.
Dolly Parton's "Rockstar" will be released on November 17th.
