{"id":46933,"date":"2026-11-01T17:57:47","date_gmt":"2026-11-01T17:57:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=46933"},"modified":"2026-11-01T17:57:47","modified_gmt":"2026-11-01T17:57:47","slug":"musicflow-74e6592a8d342e8d18ed3e36c8a7a1da","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=46933","title":{"rendered":"Kelsea Ballerini Brings Childhood Admiration for Dolly Parton to CMA Tribute"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Kelsea Ballerini\u2019s tribute to Dolly Parton at a country music celebration grew from an admiration that began long before Ballerini became a star herself. On October 21, she joined the performers at <em>CMA Presents I Will Always Love You: A Celebration of Dolly Parton<\/em>, honoring the singer whose music and example had shaped her since childhood.<\/p>\n<p>Ballerini performed Parton\u2019s 1977 hit \u201cHere You Come Again\u201d during the two-hour special, held at Belmont University\u2019s Fisher Center for the Performing Arts in Nashville. She grew up listening to Parton and visiting Dollywood, and has likened the singer\u2019s distant but reassuring influence to that of a \u201cfair godmother.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/countrynow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Untitled-1200-x-633-px-1200-x-800-px-68-1.jpg\" alt=\"Kelsea Ballerini; Photo by Kayla Schoen\/CMA\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"max-width:100%;height:auto\"><figcaption>Kelsea Ballerini; Photo by Kayla Schoen\/CMA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The performance was one of many tributes at the event, but it carried a personal meaning for Ballerini. She encouraged the audience to sing along, making the song a shared celebration rather than a moment kept to the stage. At its close, she summed up her affection for Parton with the words, \u201cWe love you, Miss Dolly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>### An example beyond the music<\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/Dex9E4fvZ87\/embed\/\" title=\"Instagram performance video\" width=\"540\" height=\"720\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"max-width:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Ballerini has also spoken about what Parton represents as a woman in entertainment. She sees the singer as a trailblazer who challenged expectations without giving up femininity or the sparkle that is part of her public image. Parton\u2019s example, Ballerini has said, shows that ambition and influence can coexist with an unapologetically feminine style.<\/p>\n<p>That perspective made the evening a celebration not only of a familiar song, but also of the influence Parton has had on artists who followed her. Images of love, magic and butterflies appeared around Ballerini\u2019s performance, reflecting qualities she associates with the country star.<\/p>\n<p>The special brought together artists from different generations and genres, including Carrie Underwood, Reba McEntire, Vince Gill, Brad Paisley, Lainey Wilson and Little Big Town. Bono, Carol Burnett, Goldie Hawn, Julia Roberts and Oprah Winfrey were among the friends and entertainment figures who also paid tribute. Amy Grant and Kimberly Williams-Paisley appeared as special guests.<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/countrynow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Untitled-design-63-683x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Kelsea Ballerini; Photo by John Russell\/CMA\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"max-width:100%;height:auto\"><figcaption>Kelsea Ballerini; Photo by John Russell\/CMA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Broadcast on ABC and Disney+ in the United States and internationally, the program is also available on Hulu. The CMA and Belmont University pledged a portion of its proceeds to Parton\u2019s Imagination Library. Together, their contribution amounted to $1 million for the program, which provides books to children.<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/countrynow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Outfit-inspo-1080-x-1920-px-1200-x-1200-px-28-1024x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Dolly Parton; \u201cCMA Presents I Will Always Love You: A Celebration of Dolly Parton\u201d\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"max-width:100%;height:auto\"><figcaption>Dolly Parton; \u201cCMA Presents I Will Always Love You: A Celebration of Dolly Parton\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>For Ballerini, the appearance brought together a beloved Parton song and a longstanding source of inspiration. Her tribute recognized a legacy built on music, individuality and the possibility of breaking barriers while remaining true to oneself.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Kelsea Ballerini \u2013 \u201cHere You Come Again\u201d | A Celebration of Dolly Parton\" width=\"820\" height=\"461\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/wIaVDsGmCl4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>KELSEA BALLERINI BROUGHT HER LIFELONG ADMIRATION FOR DOLLY PARTON TO THE CMA STAGE.<\/p>\n<p>On October 21, Ballerini joined a star-studded celebration of the country legend, whose music she grew up listening to. Her connection to Parton also goes back to childhood visits to Dollywood.<\/p>\n<p>Ballerini has described Parton as a kind of \u201cfair godmother,\u201d and sees her as a trailblazer who showed women they could be influential while embracing their own style and sparkle.<\/p>\n<p>At the celebration, Ballerini chose a beloved 1977 Parton classic for a tribute that brought her admiration to the stage. The moment closed with a heartfelt message for the woman whose example has meant so much to her.<\/p>\n<p>\u25b6\ufe0f Enjoy the song in the first comment \ud83d\udc47<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":46932,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46933","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-musicflow-soulful-tunes"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Kelsea Ballerini Brings Childhood Admiration for Dolly Parton to CMA Tribute - New50<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=46933\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kelsea Ballerini Brings Childhood Admiration for Dolly Parton to CMA Tribute - New50\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"KELSEA BALLERINI BROUGHT HER LIFELONG ADMIRATION FOR DOLLY PARTON TO THE CMA STAGE. On October 21, Ballerini joined a star-studded celebration of the country legend, whose music she grew up listening to. Her connection to Parton also goes back to childhood visits to Dollywood. Ballerini has described Parton as a kind of \u201cfair godmother,\u201d and sees her as a trailblazer who showed women they could be influential while embracing their own style and sparkle. At the celebration, Ballerini chose a beloved 1977 Parton classic for a tribute that brought her admiration to the stage. The moment closed with a heartfelt message for the woman whose example has meant so much to her. \u25b6\ufe0f Enjoy the song in the first comment \ud83d\udc47\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=46933\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"New50\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-11-01T17:57:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/new50.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/musicflow-cover-74e6592a8d342e8d18ed3e36c8a7a1da.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"912\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1152\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=46933\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=46933\",\"name\":\"Kelsea Ballerini Brings Childhood Admiration for Dolly Parton to CMA Tribute - New50\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=46933#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=46933#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/musicflow-cover-74e6592a8d342e8d18ed3e36c8a7a1da.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-11-01T17:57:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-11-01T17:57:47+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/#\/schema\/person\/da88e42c726d55d6ba22ebb67b1b7e81\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=46933#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=46933\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=46933#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/musicflow-cover-74e6592a8d342e8d18ed3e36c8a7a1da.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/musicflow-cover-74e6592a8d342e8d18ed3e36c8a7a1da.png\",\"width\":912,\"height\":1152},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=46933#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Kelsea Ballerini Brings Childhood Admiration for Dolly Parton to CMA Tribute\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/\",\"name\":\"New50\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/#\/schema\/person\/da88e42c726d55d6ba22ebb67b1b7e81\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cd05dac79fb9ad8be13382df68a551f1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cd05dac79fb9ad8be13382df68a551f1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?author=2\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Kelsea Ballerini Brings Childhood Admiration for Dolly Parton to CMA Tribute - New50","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=46933","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Kelsea Ballerini Brings Childhood Admiration for Dolly Parton to CMA Tribute - New50","og_description":"KELSEA BALLERINI BROUGHT HER LIFELONG ADMIRATION FOR DOLLY PARTON TO THE CMA STAGE. On October 21, Ballerini joined a star-studded celebration of the country legend, whose music she grew up listening to. Her connection to Parton also goes back to childhood visits to Dollywood. Ballerini has described Parton as a kind of \u201cfair godmother,\u201d and sees her as a trailblazer who showed women they could be influential while embracing their own style and sparkle. At the celebration, Ballerini chose a beloved 1977 Parton classic for a tribute that brought her admiration to the stage. 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