Washington [US], September 18 (ANI): Miley Cyrus has opened up about her final conversation with her late godmother Dolly Parton, recalling how the country music icon helped her understand the balance between a public persona and her authentic self.
In a new interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, as cited by People magazine, Cyrus said their last conversation centred on her new record.
She reflected on how their differences ultimately strengthened their bond.
“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 is that she knew this, and I know this,” Cyrus said, as quoted by People magazine.
Parton, who died at 80 on August 25, was a godmother figure to Cyrus and had a longstanding connection with the singer.
Cyrus said she admired Parton’s ability to maintain a larger-than-life image while remaining authentic.
“She’s known for, I guess, the faux, the fake, the hair, the makeup, the show of it, but there’s a part of her that’s just what I think everyone gravitates toward, how real she is and how authentic she is,” Cyrus said, as quoted by People magazine.
Cyrus also credited Parton with helping her navigate the distinction between her own identity and the Hannah Montana persona that became a defining part of her early career.
“I think a way that I could look at that as, you can still have a persona and still be who you are, is because I had Dolly,” she said.
Reflecting on her stage persona, Cyrus added, “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.”
Cyrus also recalled Parton’s reaction to her emotional live performances.
She said Parton had watched her perform ‘End of the World’, the lead single from her ‘Something Beautiful’ album, on My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman.
“I start crying, and she watched me on Letterman and was like, ‘What are you crying about?’ I was like, ‘That song is about the world ending and me never seeing my mom again,’” Cyrus recalled.
According to Cyrus, Parton responded, “‘Music is escapism. Let them cry. Get through it.’ I was like, ‘I know, but this is who I am,’ and she loved me for it.”
Cyrus also remembered performing with Parton when the two co-hosted NBC’s Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party in 2023.
“I cried singing ‘I Will Always Love You’ with her,” Cyrus said.
She added that Parton understood why she became emotional and why the loss of older mentors was particularly significant to her.
“So many of my really stabilising peers that I have in my life, they’re generations before me, and they’ve laid down brick-by-brick the road that I travel now, and they aren’t always going to be here for me to call them and say, ‘What do I do now?,’ which I always did with Dolly,” Cyrus said.
“Dolly was just always right about stuff,” she added.
Parton’s death was announced by her nephew Bryan Seaver on August 25.
A representative later said she had died following a “brief battle with cancer.”
The following day, Cyrus paid tribute to her “Aunt Dolly” on Instagram, writing, “The feeling of losing my Aunt Dolly is beyond what feels right to share.” She said their “most sacred moments were private” and would remain so.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DcgpAKZSFVX/
Cyrus also wrote, “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.”
She concluded that she would “always love [Parton] and want to make her proud.”
Cyrus is set to release her new album Bass Persuades on Friday, September 18. (ANI)