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Cyrus says their final conversation was about the album that became “Bass Persuades,” and she has since honored Parton onstage at the Hollywood Bowl.
Miley Cyrus has disclosed that her final dialogue with godmother Dolly Parton centered around the music shaping her 10th studio album, “Bass Persuades.” According to Cyrus, she had been playing the upcoming tracks for the country icon shortly before Parton passed away in August.
Cyrus addressed her dialogue with Zane Lowe during an Apple Music interview that dropped on Sept. 17, just ahead of the album’s debut. Reflecting on their final interaction, she shared that “it was actually me telling her about this record.” Ever since, Cyrus has integrated this sorrow as a recurring element of her public engagements, most prominently during her October performance at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.
A final conversation about new music
In the interview, recorded at Apple Music’s Los Angeles studio, Cyrus explained that Parton had always been the first person to receive a vinyl copy of each new album she made. She said she still intended to send one this time, and that she was trying to hold herself together while talking about it, CNN reported.
Their last talk, Cyrus said, touched on how different the two of them were as performers, and how those differences made them a good match. She described Parton as someone who was nearly always right in her advice, including during low periods when she encouraged Cyrus to get dressed up, get her hair done and go back on stage.
She also reflected on how Parton handled fame. Cyrus noted that Parton was famous for the artifice of her image, the big hair and the makeup, and said that example helped her understand that a stage persona and a private self can exist side by side without one cancelling out the other.
Cyrus also recounted a call she received after Parton saw her cry while singing “End of the World” on David Letterman’s interview series “My Next Guest Needs No Introduction.” According to Cyrus, Parton told her that music is an escape for audiences and that she should let the listeners do the crying. Cyrus said she answered that showing emotion was simply who she is, and that Parton accepted her for it.
The bond between the two dates back to Cyrus’ childhood. Parton became her godmother through her friendship with Cyrus’ father, country singer Billy Ray Cyrus, and was a guiding presence during Cyrus’ years on “Hannah Montana,” the Disney Channel series that made her famous. Over the years they performed together often, including on Cyrus’ NBC New Year’s Eve specials.
The passing of Parton in August
Parton died on Tuesday, Aug. 25, in Nashville at age 80. Her nephew and longtime head of security, Bryan Seaver, announced the news in a video on behalf of the Parton and Owens families, calling the moment “an honor that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness,” Billboard reported. Her representatives later told People that she had died after a brief battle with cancer at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, where she had been admitted four days earlier; the type of cancer was not disclosed.
For months, her deterioration had been apparent. Back in May, citing undisclosed health issues, she canceled a scheduled Las Vegas residency, while her final public outing took place in June at the inauguration of her Tennessean Travel Stop located in Cornersville, Tennessee. Furthermore, Parton was mourning the loss of her husband, Carl Dean, who passed away in March 2025. A private service was arranged by the family, and supporters were requested to contribute to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, her children’s literacy initiative, rather than sending floral tributes.
Cyrus responded publicly the following morning with an Instagram post in which she said the loss of her “Aunt Dolly” was more than she felt able to share in full. She closed it with a promise: “I will always love her and want to make her proud.”
An emotional homage at the Hollywood Bowl
That promise became the emotional center of Cyrus’ concert at the Hollywood Bowl on Friday, Oct. 16, one of two shows she had scheduled at the venue to celebrate the new album. She had announced both the record and the Los Angeles dates at the start of September, barely a week after Parton’s death. She performed Parton’s “Jolene” and, through tears, spoke about feeling her godmother’s presence. “Me and Dolly, we are eternal,” she told the crowd, ABC7 reported. She added that she expected to see Parton again.
Cyrus additionally shared with the crowd that Parton had previously asked her to perform alongside her at that very location, though she turned down the offer to experience the concert purely as an attendee.
During that very same concert, as reported by American Songwriter, Cyrus recounted what she took to be an omen sent by Parton. She shared that she found herself alone alongside a mannequin of Parton gifted to her for Christmas, played “Jolene,” burned a candle, and mentally requested the illumination to waver should Parton be present, whereupon corridor lights proceeded to flutter. She noted that her bandmates witnessed the occurrence firsthand.
The record Cyrus described to her godmother in their final conversation arrived less than four weeks after Parton’s death, and each stop in its promotion, from the Apple Music interview to the Hollywood Bowl stage, has also become a moment for Cyrus to speak about the woman she calls Aunt Dolly.