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Kacy Musgraves at The 2026 MTV Video Music Awards Matthew Taplinger/CBS The MTV VMAs tribute to Dolly Parton on Sunday began with a heart-tugging video clip of Parton herself singing “I Will Always Love You,” with Kacey Musgraves harmonizing on the last lines. Then Musgraves, in her first appearance at the VMAs in five years, took over for a lovely solo piano-and-voice performance of Parton’s song. Musgraves, who was wearing a glittery, Parton-worthy gown, pre-taped the performance — she was performing in Nashville at the Bridgestone Arena for her Middle of Nowhere tour the night of the VMAs.
Country acts are relatively rare at the VMAs, which only added a country category in 2025. Musgraves is up for the category this year for “Dry Spell.” Megan Moroney performed “Six Months Later” at last year’s awards, also taking home the Moon Person trophy, and Musgraves lit the stage on fire with a dramatic take on “Star-Crossed” in 2021. Parton herself never appeared at the VMAs, but she did lead an illustrious music-video career with classics like “9 to 5,” which featured clips of her movie co-stars Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin.
