Miley Cyrus had sung “Jolene” plenty of times before.
But a few weeks ago at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, she took a few minutes to talk about Dolly Parton before she got to the song.
It was the first of two sold-out nights at the Bowl for Miley, who was there to play songs from her new album.
It was also her first time performing at the venue. She’d been there as a fan, though, and one of those visits was a big reason she wanted to play there in the first place.
A night Miley thought she’d spend in the audience
Before singing “Jolene,” Miley told the crowd about the one time she got to see her godmother play a concert from the audience.
Usually, she said, Dolly would have her backstage or try to get her out there in a matching outfit.
This time, Miley asked if she could just sit in her seat and watch the show like everybody else.
Dolly agreed. And, well, the way Miley tells it, you can already hear there’s more to the story. It’s a funny memory at first, which makes the moment her voice starts to break all the more moving.
You can watch it in the video below:
Dolly had a little surprise planned
As Miley told it, Dolly came out singing “The Best of Both Worlds,” the Hannah Montana theme song.
Then, just in case anyone missed the connection, she announced that her goddaughter was in the crowd.
She even told everyone Miley had asked to be left alone to watch the show. So much for keeping a low profile.
Years later, standing on that same stage, Miley called the memory “gold.”
She laughed about Dolly putting her on the spot, then teared up talking about how much she missed her.
A song they’d shared before
At the Bowl, Miley Cyrus also took a moment to credit Dolly for the music she’d written, produced, and performed.
Then came “Jolene,” on the same stage where Dolly had once sung Miley’s song and given her a shout-out from the stage.
You can watch the video of the emotional performance below: