Miley Cyrus broke down in tears while delivering a tribute to her late godmother, Dolly Parton, during a performance at the Hollywood Bowl on Friday. The country music legend died in August at the age of 80 after being diagnosed with cancer.
A personal memory at the Hollywood Bowl
Cyrus, 33, played Parton's 1973 hit Jolene and told the crowd she had seen Parton perform live only once, at that same venue. She had been invited to join her godmother onstage but declined, choosing instead to experience the show as an audience member.
'I feel her now more than ever,' Cyrus told the audience as she became choked up with emotion. According to People, Cyrus recalled how Parton had begun her show by playing the Hannah Montana theme tune, The Best of Both Worlds.
'Me and Dolly, we are eternal'
'Like so many things Dolly did, that I didn't understand it at the time, sitting here with you all right now, feeling her all around me, knowing that she's right here beside me everyday, all the time, more than she could be when she was here. I feel her, now more than ever.'
Describing the memory as 'gold' to her, she added: 'Me and Dolly, we are eternal. Nothing in this life could tear us apart.' In tears, she continued: 'And I'm gonna see her again. I can't f****g wait because I miss her. Some of the greatest music that we have today was written, produced and performed by my Aunt Dolly.'
She finished by joking that Parton would not have enjoyed her profanity. 'I'm feeling bad that she heard me say the F word,' Cyrus said. 'I can hear her telling me, "You said that when I was here."'
A lasting bond
Parton also served as a role model and advocate for Cyrus as she broke out of Hannah Montana's shadow, including defending her when she came under fire for twerking on Robin Thicke and stripping off during the 2013 MTV Music Awards.
Parton told Us Weekly in 2014: 'She was spectacular on that, but she just needed and wanted so bad to break out of that and wanted to become Miley Cyrus and she tried every way in the world to do it and nobody would let her go. So, she just had to resort to extreme measures but she pulled it off.'
In the years which followed, Cyrus joined her godmother on stage to perform some of Parton's biggest hits, including Jolene. Following Parton's death in August, Cyrus also shared an emotional tribute to her Instagram account.
The Wrecking Ball star wrote: 'The feeling of losing my Aunt Dolly is beyond what feels right to share. Our most sacred moments were private and they'll stay there behind the stage, beneath the glamour & between our hearts.
'What I KNOW is Dolly would want me to feel it, write a song about it, and then continue on and be strong. I have an angel by my side. I always have. One of our last conversations was about music and metamorphosis.
'I will always love her and want to make her proud. My heart breaks for the world, her family and friends who will miss her deeply. We're in this loss together and we will see her in all of the most beautiful things.'
