Okay, this one hurt.
Kacey Musgraves honored Dolly Parton at the 2026 MTV VMAs with a performance of “I Will Always Love You,” and it was exactly as emotional as that sentence sounds.
The tribute came during Sunday night’s ceremony in Los Angeles and gave the show a quiet, devastating little pause after a night that had mostly been pure VMA chaos.
Kacey sang Dolly’s “I Will Always Love You”
Kacey performed Dolly Parton’s 1974 classic as part of the VMAs’ tribute to the country legend.
Entertainment Weekly and Billboard both reported on the performance, which marked a rare country moment on a show much more associated with pop and hip-hop.
And then Snoop Dogg came back out and basically said what everybody was thinking.
“Now that’s how you honor a legend.”
That was the entire mood
There are some tribute performances where the production becomes the story.
This was not that.
This was about the song, Dolly, and Kacey standing there singing one of the most recognizable songs ever written.
And for a few minutes, the VMAs stopped being weird and loud and just let the room feel it.
Missed the rest of the show? Here’s how to rewatch the 2026 VMAs on Paramount+.
