Photo via New York Post

Kacey Musgraves honors Dolly Parton with emotional performance of ‘I Will Always Love You’ at VMAs 2026

Read the original at New York Post ↗
Cite

Serna, V. (2026, September 28). Kacey Musgraves honors Dolly Parton with emotional performance of ‘I Will Always Love You’ at VMAs 2026. New York Post. https://pagesix.com/2026/09/27/entertainment/kacey-musgraves-pays-tribute-to-dolly-parton-with-emotional-performance-at-vmas-2026/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

New York Post · collected 2026-09-28 · by Vanessa Serna

Quick Summary

At the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards, Kacey Musgraves honored Dolly Parton with an emotional performance of "I Will Always Love You" at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. The tribute followed a video montage of Parton’s messages to fans and her iconic song. Musgraves, nominated for Best Country for “Dry Spell,” wore a sparkling pink outfit adorned with feathers. Host Snoop Dogg praised the performance as an appropriate way to pay homage to the legendary country star, who passed away on August 25, 2026, at age 80 after battling cancer privately since last year.
Written by AI on 2026-09-28, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

At the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards held at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, Kacey Musgraves paid an emotional tribute to the late country icon Dolly Parton by performing her signature song “I Will Always Love You.” The performance was preceded by a video clip of Dolly, who passed away earlier that year after battling cancer at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville, Tennessee. Musgraves, dressed in a pink sequined outfit with feathered cuffs and sporting high-volume hair inspired by Parton’s signature look, sang in front of a star-studded audience. The tribute was part of her first VMAs performance since 2016 and came as she was nominated for Best Country for “Dry Spell.” Musgraves has long cited Parton as one of her biggest musical influences, participating in previous tributes at the CMA Awards and Grammys.

Written for “Kacey Musgrapes VMAs Tribute” on 2026-10-30, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Kacey Musgrapes VMAs Tribute
Entertainment · 2 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 9 claims Outlet record 66/100
Fox News
Hedges 0 of 45 claims Outlet record 70/100
“While both articles cover Kacey Musgraves' tribute to Dolly Parton at the VMAs, Article B focuses more on Madonna's achievements and less specifically on Musgraves' performance.”
Evening Standard
Hedges 0 of 8 claims Outlet record 65/100
“The articles describe different performances and award moments at the VMAs, not the same specific incident.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
19
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 19 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
2
Entertainment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-28 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 15208 article(s) · 35 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 35 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Vanessa Serna
58 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 “I trusted that the authorities were doing the same for other families,” she continued, adding that “the breadth of what has now been uncovered is more sickening than one could ever imagine.”
🔮 Miller told People in May that she was “dunzo” with Batula, stating that she would never portray her “worst enemy” in the same way.
🔮 Bethenny Frankel brutally called out Andy Cohen after he gave a shady response when asked if he would have the businesswoman return to the “Real Housewives.”
🔮 At the time, her rep told Page Six that she was “doing fine” and would be “discharged from the hospital shortly.”
🔮 “I could not be in LA for ‘Dancing With the Stars’ last night,” he shared.
🔮 However, Taylor later stated that she and Paulson would get hitched if they wanted to.
🔮 Additionally, the Sentry requested that the European Union impose sanctions on Gadalla so he could be charged in Libya.
🔮 “I could have communicated better with how I felt, how things were making me feel [and] how things make me feel.
🔮 Kazee, who announced his engagement to Dewan in 2020, has supported the “Step Up” star since she began her “DWTS” journey with Chmerkovskiy in September. However, Dewan’s journey on the competition series took a surprising turn after Chmerkovskiy, 40, was suspended from performing for one week following his controversial social media post referring to Will Smith and Chris Rock’s 2022 Oscars incident.
🔮 In October 2025, the reality star gave an update on her health battle, revealing the cancer was “gone,” but it would take time for her to be in remission fully.
Also by Vanessa Serna
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 58 articles by Vanessa Serna →

Topics

Los Angeles MTV Video Music Awards Page Six Tennessee the Peacock Theater

Subjects

Parton PERSON · 8× Musgraves PERSON · 3× Dolly PERSON · 2× Dolly Parton PERSON · 2× Page Six ORG · 2× Tennessee GPE · 2× Kacey Musgraves PERSON · 1× Los Angeles GPE · 1× MTV Video Music Awards ORG · 1× the Peacock Theater ORG · 1×

Narrative

“After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her Earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones,” her reps told Page Six in a statement, referring to a hospital in Nashville, Tennessee. “Our beloved Dolly Parton spent her life and career bringing joy, laughter, hope and integrity into everything she touched.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-28
🔮 Parton was shown in a retro flashback, saying “I wish you joy, I wish you lots and lots of happiness, but you know what, above all this I wish you love,” before launching into one of her most beloved hits, “I Will Always Love You.”

Claims (19 extracted, 0 hedged)

Kacey Musgraves honored late country icon Dolly Parton with a heartwarming tribute at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards Sunday. asserted
Musgraves → honor → Awards
The “Slow Burn” singer took the stage following a video clip of the legendary country icon played on a big screen. asserted
singer → take → screen
Parton was shown in a retro flashback, saying “I wish you joy, I wish you lots and lots of happiness, but you know what, above all this I wish you love,” before launching into one of her most beloved hits, “I Will Always Love You.” asserted
I → show → You
The video of Parton singing then seamlessly segued into Musgraves, dressed in a sparkling pink outfit trimmed with feathers, taking over the song in front of a star-studded audience at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. asserted
Musgraves → sing → Angeles
“That’s how you honor a legend … we love you, Dolly,” enthused host Snoop Dogg, following the performance. asserted
Dogg → ’ → performance
Musgraves, 38, was announced to perform at the awards ceremony for the first time in five years on Wednesday. asserted
Musgraves → announce → Wednesday
The country singer was also nominated in the category of Best Country for her track “Dry Spell,” along with Ella Langley (“Choosin’ Texas”), Lainey Wilson (“Somewhere Over Laredo”), Luke Combs (“Back in the Saddle”), Shaboozey (“Cowgirl”), Stella Lefty (“Boston”) and Tucker Wetmore (“Brunette”). asserted
singer → nominate → Saddle
Musgraves and Parton previously shared the stage at the 2019 Grammys, performing a rendition of the latter’s 1977 hit “Here You Come Again.” asserted
You → share → hit
As Page Six previously reported, Parton died on Aug. 25 at the age of 80. asserted
Parton → report → 80
“After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her Earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones,” her reps told Page Six in a statement, referring to a hospital in Nashville, Tennessee. “Our beloved Dolly Parton spent her life and career bringing joy, laughter, hope and integrity into everything she touched. asserted
she → face → everything
Her unmatched generosity reached the lives of countless people whom she would never meet, yet she was always there to offer a helping hand. asserted
she → reach → hand
While Parton kept her battle with cancer a secret, she often gave fans updates on her health after being forced to pull out of an appearance at her Dollywood theme park in Tennessee last September. asserted
she → keep → Tennessee
“Turns out there was an infection, and the doctor said, ‘You don’t need to be traveling around this minute, so you need a few days to get better,’” she told fans in a pre-recorded video at the time. asserted
she → turn → time
The “9 to 5” singer’s last public appearance was at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for her “Dolly’s Tennessean Travel Stop” in June. asserted
appearance → cut → June
News of Parton’s death came over a year after the singer’s husband, Carl Dean, died at the age of 82 in March 2025. asserted
husband → come → March
Since then, several celebrities have paid tribute to Parton, including her goddaughter, Miley Cyrus, her “9 to 5” co-stars Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, as well as her “Steel Magnolias” castmates. asserted
celebrities → pay → 5
Earlier this month, Sally Field and country superstar Reba McEntire paid their respects to Parton at the 2026 Emmys, while actress Julia Stiles honored her during an episode of “Dancing With the Stars.” asserted
Stiles → pay → Stars
Conversation Your voice matters. asserted
voice → matter → ?
Discussions are moderated for civility. asserted
Discussions → moderate → civility
💬Give feedback
🕘History 🎫Support