Miley Cyrus has admitted she is "just trying to hold on" following the death of her godmother Dolly Parton. The country music legend, best known for hits like I Will Always Love You and 9 to 5, died in August following a short battle with cancer at the age of 80 and became something of a mentor to Miley throughout her rise to fame in the late 2000s.
Final conversation about new album
The pop star, 33, was left on the verge of tears as she recounted the last time she saw Dolly, and revealed they discussed her new album Bass Persuades.
She said: "I'm just trying to keep myself together but the time that we talked, which was the last time we would talk, it was actually me telling her about this record. Because even though we are so different, that's what made us so perfect for each other."
She added: "Dolly has been the first person that when I get a vinyl printed, that's the first person I send it to since I've been making vinyls. And this time around I'm going to send her a vinyl because I always do."
Hannah Montana and Aunt Dolly
Miley shot to global fame as a teenager when she took on the title role of the Disney Channel sitcom Hannah Montana. The programme, which became a billion-dollar franchise for the corporation, followed Miley as a schoolgirl living a secret double life as the titular pop star, disguised by a blonde wig.
Dolly appeared as Aunt Dolly on the sitcom over the course of three episodes, and Miley explained that her godmother's public persona helped with those early years in her career.
Speaking with Zane Lowe on his Apple Music podcast, she said: "She is like known for like the fake, the hair, the makeup, and the show of it. But there's a part of her that I think is what everyone gravitates towards is how real she is and how authentic she is."
"And there was a time in my life, we hit on it with Hannah, so much of my life was about persona. And I think a way that I could look at that as you can have a persona and still be who you are is because I had Dolly."
She continued: "Sometimes I call what I do drag because the way that I present myself is just someone that is so different from the person that feeds the tortoise every morning. But again, that person's inside of me. I just kind of have her off."
A lifelong bond
Miley is the daughter of country singer Billy Ray Cyrus, and Dolly had met Miley's father when he released his signature track Achy Breaky Heart in the early 1990s and invited him to be her support act on tour.
Later that year, Miley was born, and the Cyrus family asked her to become godmother. During an appearance on The Howard Stern Show, Dolly said: "We just got to be good friends because he’s a Kentucky boy, I’m from Tennessee. I love Miley. She’s my little sweetheart. I’ve known her since before she was born, actually."
When Miley landed the role of Hannah Montana, she requested that scriptwriters create a part for her godmother, and the line between fact and fiction was blurred by the role she was cast in.
Aunt Dolly was often there to help Miley navigate tricky situations. By the time she made her final appearance on the show, it was said that Aunt Dolly had, in fact, had her own long-running showbiz career as she helped Miley adjust to a complete lack of privacy after revealing her identity to the world.
Hannah Montana, which spawned a concert tour, five soundtrack albums and a cinematic film, ended in 2011, but Miley and Dolly continued working together in the years that followed. The pair duetted on the track Rainbowland, which was released on Miley's 2017 record Younger Now and co-hosted a New Year's Eve special for NBC in 2022.
Dolly, who recorded a rock version of Miley's hit Wrecking Ball for what became her final album, told Miley at the time: "From the bottom of my heart, I am proud of you and I’m proud to be your fairy godmother.
"When you had me in Hannah Montana you helped my career and introduced me to new fans, young fans, of course they are not as young as they used to be!"
