Miley Cyrus Breaks Down in Tears Over Dolly Parton: 'Me and Dolly, We Are Eternal'

Miley Cyrus broke down in tears at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on Friday night as she paid tribute to her late godmother Dolly Parton, performing 'Jolene' beneath a towering image of the country legend and telling fans, 'Me and Dolly, we are eternal.'

The singer, 33, was playing the first of two headline shows at the venue, less than two months after Parton died on 25 August aged 80. She performed 'Jolene' as a huge image of the country star lit up the Bowl's shell.

As the opening guitar riff rang out, Cyrus paused, visibly trying to steady herself.

'Me and Dolly, we are eternal,' she said. 'Nothing in this life could ever tear us apart, and I'm gonna see her again.' Her voice cracked as she added, 'And I can't f***ing wait because I miss her.' She then wiped away tears.

Midway through the song, she lightened the mood. 'I'm feeling bad that she heard me say the F word,' she quipped. 'I can hear her telling me, "You said that when I was here."'

A Hollywood Bowl Memory Miley Cyrus Calls 'Gold'

Cyrus told the audience that the only time she had watched Parton perform as an ordinary member of the public was at the Bowl, years earlier. She said she had asked her godmother to let her sit in the crowd rather than join her on stage in matching rhinestones.

'I would love a night where I can just experience you,' Cyrus recalled telling her. 'I can just enjoy you like the rest of the world has gotten to.'

According to Cyrus, Parton replied 'OK, Miley,' which, she joked, 'never means okay.'

Instead, she said, Parton opened the show by walking out to sing The Best of Both Worlds, the Hannah Montana theme, before telling the audience her goddaughter was among them. Cyrus said the announcement drew 'an obnoxious amount of attention' to her.

'Like so many things Dolly did, I didn't understand at the time,' she told fans on Friday. 'Knowing that she's right here beside me every day, more than she could be when she was here, I feel her now more than ever.' She described the memory as 'gold'.

Wrecking Ball, Dolly Parton and a Lifelong Bond

Later in the set, Cyrus performed Wrecking Ball while holding a heart-shaped frame containing a photograph of Parton. She said the 2013 hit was one of her godmother's favourites from her catalogue and that she had to 'bring her with me'.

Parton became Cyrus's godmother after the singer's father, Billy Ray Cyrus, asked her to take on the role. Cyrus was born in 1992, and the two older artists had toured together in the 1990s.

Parton played Aunt Dolly in Cyrus's Disney Channel series Hannah Montana between 2006 and 2010. The pair performed Jolene together at the 2019 Grammy Awards and recorded a new version of Wrecking Ball for Parton's 2023 album Rockstar.

After Parton's death, Cyrus wrote on social media that 'the feeling of losing my Aunt Dolly is beyond what feels right to share', adding that their 'most sacred moments were private'. She said Parton would have wanted her to 'feel it, write a song about it, and then continue on and be strong'.

Cyrus released her tenth studio album, Bass Persuades, on 18 September. She is due to play a second Hollywood Bowl show on Sunday.