Carrie Underwood and Dolly Parton stepped onto the stage, the air thick with emotion, and delivered a breathtaking duet of I Will Always Love You—a heartfelt tribute to Dolly’s late husband, Carl Dean. But here’s the jaw-dropper: On the very same night, Dolly and Carl penned not just Jolene, but I Will Always Love You as well. That’s not just talent—it’s the kind of love and magic that only comes once in a lifetime. As Carrie and Dolly’s voices intertwined, soft yet powerful, each note carried a weight of devotion, of loss, of something deeper than words. Their harmonies weren’t just music; they were a warm embrace, a whispered promise, a love story echoing through time. And when they sang? Tears weren’t just possible—they were inevitable. This performance didn’t just touch hearts; it reached in and held them tight.

The two country singers did a fresh take on Parton’s classic tune.

Carrie Underwood’s dream as a country singer came true when she got to sing with the one and only Dolly Parton in 2009.

During Underwood and Parton’s duet of ”I Will Always Love You” they both sang the emotional lyrics in heavenly tones, while crooning with gorgeous country twang.

Listen to their stunning version below

Dolly Parton talks about ”I Will Always Love You”

Parton wrote the hit tune in 1973, and it was famously covered by Whitney Houston for the 1992 film The Bodyguard. When Parton was on The Kelly Clarkson Show in 2022, she talked about what it was like to hear Houston’s version for the first time.

“I was just driving along and I had the radio on and I just heard this, ‘If I should stay’… It’s just one of those things like a dog hearing a whistle, and I go ‘What is that?’” she said.

Dolly Parton Carrie Underwood Duet — Dolly Parton appears in Dolly Parton’s Mountain Magic Christmas; Carrie Underwood attends the 56th Annual CMA Awards at Bridgestone Arena on November 09, 2022 in Nashville, Tennessee. Photo: NBC; Taylor Hill/FilmMagic via Getty Images

“That’s the first time [I heard it]” she continued. “They hadn’t sent it to me. They did nothing. I heard it on the radio. And so when it went into ‘And I,’ I just freaked out. I had to pull over to the side because, honestly, I thought I was ‘gonna wreck. It was the most overwhelming feeling. And you know how great that was.”

What to know about Dolly Parton’s NBC Christmas special

Dolly Parton’s wonderful 2022 Christmas special, titled Dolly Parton’s Magic Mountain Christmas, took place in Parton’s theme park, Dollywood, and follows Parton on a journey to discovering the true meaning of Christmas after being visited by the three wise men. It was nominated for two Emmy awards, including Outstanding Television Movie and Outstanding Contemporary Costumes For A Limited Or Anthology Series or Movie.

“I just feel like that it was time for me to do another special like this, with good music, with comedy, with meaningful things,” Parton told People of why she created the special. “And to kind of make you feel entertained for a couple hours just to get away from everything else.”

She continued, “Being magical is to lift up out of yourself and your troubles for a little while. To me, if you can even do that, even with one song, then that is magical. I just think the whole idea of trying to make things uplifting is magic within itself.”