Harry Styles has kicked off his 30-date residency at New York's Madison Square Garden with a musical tribute to Dolly Parton, who died on Tuesday aged 80 after a "brief battle with cancer".
Styles, 32, played the first of 30 shows at the venue one month after wrapping his record-breaking 12-show run at Wembley Stadium. Speaking to the 19,500-strong crowd, the former One Direction singer said: "I just want to say thank you to all the musicians over the years that have inspired me... Dolly, thank you so much."
Rendition of Parton classic
The Cheshire-raised musician then led his band and the audience in a rendition of "I Will Always Love You", the 1974 track written by Parton and later rearranged by Whitney Houston.
Styles' final show at Madison Square Garden is scheduled for 31 October, after which he will perform in Melbourne and Sydney in December. The Together Together Tour has so far visited Amsterdam, London, São Paulo and Mexico City.
Industry-wide tributes
Styles joined the biggest names in pop in honouring Parton, with tributes coming from Beyoncé, Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter following her death.
One of the most emotional tributes came from Miley Cyrus, who frequently collaborated with Parton and was her goddaughter. Cyrus 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 heart."
She continued: "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."
Cyrus added: "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."
