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carrie underwood_promo

Carrie Underwood 

Photo: Jeremy Cowart

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Carrie Underwood On 'My Savior,' Legacy Music carrie-underwood-talks-creating-her-first-gospel-album-my-savior-working-cece-winans-legacy-music

Carrie Underwood On Creating Her First Gospel Album, 'My Savior,' Working With CeCe Winans, & Making "Legacy Music"

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Carrie Underwood recently spoke with GRAMMY.com about her new album, 'My Savior,' her spiritual journey, learning from gospel legend CeCe Winans, and crafting what she calls "legacy music"
Jessica Nicholson
GRAMMYs
Apr 2, 2021 - 11:43 am

In 2005, fresh off her "American Idol" win, Carrie Underwood, then a rising singer from Oklahoma, scored her first country radio hit, "Jesus, Take The Wheel." Two years later, the faith-based ballad elevated her to another level in her career: a GRAMMY award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance at the 2007 GRAMMY Awards show. (That year she also took home the coveted Best New Artist award.) 

Now a seven-time GRAMMY winner, she's notched hits like "Before He Cheats" and "Blown Away," but has never shied away from her spirituality. "Something in the Water," "See You Again," "Temporary Home," and her soul-piercing performance of "How Great Thou Art" alongside Vince Gill during an Academy of Country Music television special in 2015 showed her devotion proudly.

Those spiritual leanings come full-circle on her first gospel album, My Savior, released on March 26. Much like last year's holiday album My Gift, Underwood's new project finds her drawing from childhood memories; She sings of attending a rural Baptist church in Oklahoma—listening to Sunday sermons and joining the congregation in singing classics such as "Amazing Grace" and "How Great Thou Art" from an old hymnal.

"It's so great for me because I feel like in recording them, even now I can still feel myself sitting in the church pews next to my parents, hearing my mom sing harmonies and hearing other voices singing in the congregation," Underwood tells GRAMMY.com. "I feel like that just still rings in my ear and it's wonderful, but more importantly, it provides a feeling of comfort and inspiration that hopefully other people can feel as well when they listen to these songs."

Like so many impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic over the past year, Underwood turned to her faith—and faith-based music—as a source of comfort. She has stayed in Nashville with her husband, Mike Fisher, and their two sons and kept in touch with family members back in Oklahoma from afar. The project's production process made her feel closer to the family she can’t be with at the moment.

"Making this album felt like home, and I haven't been home since Christmas of 2019," Underwood says. "I haven't seen my dad in so long, so it was nice in the middle of the unsureness and chaos of 2020, first to get to make the Christmas album and then to follow it up with more songs that just felt like home."

Carrie Underwood recently spoke with GRAMMY.com about her new album, My Savior, her spiritual journey, learning from gospel legend CeCe Winans, and crafting what she calls "legacy music."

Making this album had to feel like a walk down memory lane for you. What memories do these songs bring to mind?

I've been singing these songs my whole life. Even now I can still feel myself sitting in the church pews next to my parents, hearing my mom sing harmonies and hearing voices from people in the congregation. I feel like that still rings in my ear and it’s wonderful.

Did anyone in your family have suggestions for songs to include on the album?

Everybody always chimes in. Some of them were already on the list. My husband would chime in every once in a while with something that maybe was an older faith-based song, but not necessarily a hymn. He didn't necessarily grow up listening to a lot of the hymns that I did, but he wanted me to do "Give Me Jesus," so maybe someday I can cover that one down the road.

How did you narrow down the song choices?

We had the biggest running list. [There were] dozens [of songs]. But you have your pillars—I knew I wanted "Great Is Thy Faithfulness," "How Great Thou Art," "Softly and Tenderly," [and] "Nothing but the Blood of Jesus." We wanted to create diversity in the sound because so many of them were written kind of around the same time period with the same instrumentation. The challenge was making them sound fresh, but still keeping that traditional thing about them that I love.

And so many of them have a lot of verses, but no chorus. It's not a traditional format that we are used to, so for "Nothing but the Blood of Jesus" in particular, that's why we put the "Ohs" in there, to become the little break between verses.

Bear Rinehart from NEEDTOBREATHE sings with you on "Nothing but the Blood of Jesus" and the song has this great soulful sound. How did he become part of this album?

When we started playing around with tempo on this song, we could just hear his voice on it. It took me forever to ask him, but it was one of those things where he actually showed up one Sunday at my church and sat right in front of me. I was like, "Oh my gosh, we've been talking about giving him a call." We were wrapping up the album and it was reaching that point where I needed to ask him. Of course, I chickened out because who wants to start talking work at church?

Then we ended up in a small group having brunch afterward, and he asked me about what I was working on. I was like, “Well, as a matter of fact, you're probably going to get a call within the next couple of days about maybe coming and singing on something.” It does sound so cool, and I loved the way it turned out because [it] was exactly what we were hearing the whole time.

CeCe Winans joins you on "Great Is Thy Faithfulness."

I feel like God was really watching out for this project in so many ways. Her people had called us about something completely separate, and we thought, "This is our open door." She said yes, and within days she was in the studio with me.

She came in, and I felt like we just needed to sit back and let her work her magic because it truly was inspirational. And besides her extremely God-given, powerful, inspiring voice, her presence was just so wonderful to be around. I feel like when I work with legends, I'm a sponge. I want to see what you do and how you do it. So it was equal parts getting to work with her and sing with her, but also learning from her.

You have always included faith-based songs throughout your career, from "Jesus, Take The Wheel" to "Something in the Water." With everything going on in the world, were you nervous at all to put out a specifically faith-based project?

I feel like the answer to all of our problems is Jesus, and like you said, it's not a secret where I stand. And this has been good for my soul. I feel like hopefully when people listen to it, it'll inspire. It'll bring some peace, and hopefully some good, positive feelings.

Do you recall when you first felt like you had a personal connection with God?

Well, I was always in church. There was always an altar call song. For our church, it was "Just As I Am," and that's on the album. I might've been 10 years old, something like that. When you grow up around it, it means you have to make that decision for yourself. I remember making that trip down the aisle, knowing that was what I wanted to do.

When do you feel most connected spiritually?

I've been singing my whole life, even before I knew that this [was] going to be what I do. I'm a bird. I sing. It's what I do. When I sing songs like this, I definitely feel connected. With the Christmas album, too. I loved getting to be in the studio and sing in more intimate settings, because when there [are] people in front of you, you're worried about, "What do they see? What do they hear? Are they happy? Do they like it?" You want to put on a good show. But in the studio there's nobody else there, it's just me and God in the room, and I get to just sing to Jesus.

Speaking of performing, you recently announced you will celebrate the album's release with a concert at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium on Easter Sunday, April 4, and that it will livestream from your official Facebook page.

Well, we're missing performing. Under normal circumstances, you make an album and then you get to tour it in front of an audience. Obviously, right now, we're not quite there yet, but we still want a project this special to have that moment. We decided to go to our country music Mother Church, the Ryman, because it is spiritual. You walk in there and you feel it. I think it's going to be an inspiring morning.

There have been a lot of collaborations between country artists and CCM/gospel artists recently—Chris Tomlin and Florida Georgia Line, and Dolly Parton's work with Zach Williams and for King & Country, for example. Are there other CCM artists you would want to work with in the future?

I would love definitely for people who are strong in their faith to sing about it. I feel like the more of us that make it a norm and do our thing—I've already had other people in the music industry who are friends in mine say, "I've always wanted to do this, but would wonder what people would think about it." There are a few of us, like Hillary Scott and Dolly, we're just making music and trying to stay true to ourselves. When that's part of you, I feel like it's easy, and maybe more artists will feel like it's a safe space to be able to do that.

You never know, as far as me working with other Christian music artists. I would never count any of that out, but everything just has to feel right and be right in the moment. 

You have two young sons, Isaiah and Jacob. So many congregations lean toward praise and worship music, or modern-day hymns. This album feels like one way to pass down these traditional hymns you grew up with to a new generation of listeners.

I did grow up with these songs and like you said, so many churches do praise and worship. Every once in a while at our church, they'll sneak in a chorus or a bit of a hymn, which is always nice for me because I love them. But I do feel like so many younger people didn't necessarily grow up with these songs. Maybe we are, in a way, introducing some of these to a new generation. I sing them around the house, and I love that my boys will have my voice on these songs, as they get older.

Legacy music is how I like to think of it. I love all the songs and all the albums that I have ever made and I have a special connection with each one. But I feel like this is the real stuff, the heart stuff, the soul stuff.

Meet The First-Time GRAMMY Nominee: Ingrid Andress On Finding Her Sound—And Breaking Country Norms With It

Frank Iero

Frank Iero of My Chemical Romance

Photo: Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images

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Rita Wilson, Frank Iero, More Aid MusiCares Fund musicares-covid-19-fund-mcrs-frank-iero-rita-wilson-naughty-nature-ellie-drew-holcomb

MusiCares COVID-19 Fund: MCR's Frank Iero, Rita Wilson & Naughty By Nature, Ellie & Drew Holcomb & More Support With Livestreams & Beyond

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Linda Perry with We Are Hear, Brett Young via Levi Strauss' "5:01 Live" series and CMT, with their upcoming star-studded Kenny Rogers tribute special, have also joined the cause
Ana Monroy Yglesias
MusiCares
Apr 6, 2020 - 12:58 pm

Many more artists and companies have come together during this difficult time to support the many music people out-of-work and in-need due to coronavirus, with more fun fundraisers and generous donations to the MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund.

Today, actor/singer Rita Wilson teamed up with hip-hop legends Naughty By Nature to release a special remix of their classic track "Hip Hop Hooray," featuring none other than Wilson herself throwing down bars. All proceeds from the song will be donated to the Fund. It was released on YouTube today (listen below) and will be available across streaming/digital platforms this Friday. Wilson and her husband, Tom Hanks, contracted COVID-19 while filming in New Zealand; after posting a video rapping "Hip Hop Hooray" on Instagram, the group reached out to her about collaborating on the new version for a good cause.

For the last two weeks, Nashville powerhouse singer/songwriters and power couple Ellie and Drew Holcomb having been performing fun covers ranging from U2 to Kacey Musgraves to John Mayer on their daily Kitchen Covers series, raising money for MusiCares and their out-of-work touring band and crew.

Linda Perry and Kerry Brown's We Are Hear multifaceted music org have launched the On The Air series, in partnership with Roland, featuring music industry talks, performances and more on YouTube. With the platform's donation functionality, they are raising money for the Fund. Halestorm's Lzzy Hale offered some empowering words and music in one of the latest episodes. 

Read More: Troye Sivan, Yoshiki, Father John Misty, Selena Gomez & More Donate To MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund

On Wednesday, April 8, CMT will be airing a special star-studded tribute show to the late country king Kenny Rogers to benefit MusiCares. "CMT Giants Kenny Rogers: A Benefit for MusiCares" will feature at-home performances by Dolly Parton, Lionel Richie, Jason Isbell & Amanda Shires, Lady Antebellum, Vince Gill, Michael McDonald, Rascal Flatts and more.

Later this week, on April 11, the Human To Human 2020 festival on Facebook Live will feature live music from Alec Benjamin, Tayla Parx, Skylar Grey, Richard Marx, Cyn, Grouplove, Jewel, Lauren Daigle and more. They will be raising money for the Plus1 COVID-19 Relief Fund, which has partnered with MusiCares and the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund.

Until April 9 (it began April 2), the UnCanceled Music Festival is bringing tons of live sets from artists around globe by pairing with local venues and brands to curate digital stages. The massive online event is hosted on the StageIt platform and requires "attendees" to donate in a pay-what-you-can model to watch. Fender's stage has featured alt faves like Waxahatchee, Cautious Clay and The Marias, while Los Angeles venue Hotel Cafe has tapped VINCINT, Colbie Caillat, Molly Tuttle and more. All money raised is donated to the venues' staff, the artist community and MusiCares.

Fender has been finding several creative ways to collaborate with artists and contribute to the MusiCares Fund. With the Fender Artist Check-In series on IGTV, they've tapped bad-ass guitarists including My Chemical Romance's Frank Iero, John 5, Isbell, and more and are donating on behalf of each artist that participates. In Iero's recent Check-In, which you can watch below, he shares a guitar tutorial for two MCR fan-favorites, "Ghost of You" and "Welcome to the Black Parade."



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From his basement jam room, @frankieromustdie of @mychemicalromance gives a tutorial on his guitar parts for their songs “Ghost of You” and “Welcome to the Black Parade.” Be on the lookout for new Artist Check-Ins coming soon. For each artist that participates in a Fender Check-In, we are making a donation to @musicares who has set up a COVID-19 relief fund to support creators affected during this time.

A post shared by Fender (@fender) on Mar 31, 2020 at 10:19am PDT

For those seeking a little retail therapy for a good cause, live music photographer Jacob Blickenstaff and pop star Troye Sivan have you covered. Blickenstaff has partnered with some of the artists he's photographed over the years, including Isbell, Dawes, Yola and Hiss Golden Messenger, selling gorgeous prints with a portion of the proceeds going to the Fund. Sivan, who had shared he would be supporting both MusiCares and the WHO's coronavirus relief efforts, recently released merch for his new single, "Take Yourself Home." All the profits from the three t-shirts will be donated to the WHO COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund and Spotify's COVID-19 Music Relief project, which supports MusiCares and several other charities.

Last Fri., April 3, Light In The Attic & Friends Live brought live sets from Ben Gibbard, Jim James, Fred Armisen, Barbara Lynn, Devendra Banhart and more on their YouTube and Twitch accounts. All donations were directed to MusiCares. "Lo-Fi" singer Haley Reinhart recently did a performance on Billboard's Live At-Home series, choosing MusiCares as her charity of choice.

Explore: GRAMMY Museum To Debut Never-Before-Seen Content From Billie Eilish & FINNEAS, Brandi Carlile, Yola & Much More

Denim purveyors Levi Strauss have launched a star-studded 5:01 Live IGTV music and chat series to benefit COVID-19 relief efforts from MusiCares and the WHO. So far, it's featured a stellar squad including Snoop Dogg, Questlove, Burna Boy, Moses Sumney and Brett Young. Young, who performed last week, donated his performance fee to MusiCares. Additionally, the country star's past GRAMMY Museum is also being featured in the Museum's exciting digital offering rollout, going live on April 29.

https://twitter.com/MusiCares/status/1244750979590795264

Thank you for your support @ThomasRhett ❤️ It means a lot! 🙏 https://t.co/kVv1EUOUOp

— MusiCares (@MusiCares) March 30, 2020

On March 30, his birthday, country star Thomas Rhett released a new song benefiting MusiCares, called "Be A Light." Featuring none other than Reba McEntire, Keith Urban, Hillary Scott and Chris Tomlin, all of the artists' proceeds will be donated to the cause. Joining the growing coalition of companies supporting the Fund, the Country Music Association and its philanthropic arm, the CMA Foundation, announced a $1 million donation last week.

As more members of the music community rallying around a unified cause, we'll keep you posted right here on musicares.org.

Learn more about how you can donate to or apply for assistance via the Recording Academy's and MusiCares' COVID-19 Relief Fund.

Learn more about the financial, medical and personal emergencies services and resources offered by the Recording Academy and MusiCares. 

How Kevin Griffin Of Better Than Ezra Raised Over $40K (And Counting) For MusiCares In Just An Hour On Facebook

GRAMMYs

Alicia Keys and Jay-Z

Photo: Kevin Mazur/Child/WireImage.com

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oh-say-can-you-hear

Oh Say Can You Hear

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A brief road trip on the highway of the United States of music
Matt Sycamore
GRAMMYs
Dec 2, 2014 - 4:06 pm

(For a complete list of 53rd GRAMMY Awards nominees, click here.)

(On Feb. 10 the GRAMMY Museum will host Mississippi Music Celebration At The GRAMMY Museum in honor of the state's unparalleled legacy and historical roots in blues, country, gospel, soul, and rock and roll music.)

From a legendary crossroad near the grounds of the Dockery Plantation to the birth of a King in Tupelo, the state of Mississippi is a big piece of the history of American popular music.

On Feb. 10 Los Angeles will be home to Mississippi Music Celebration At The GRAMMY Museum, a GRAMMY Week program honoring the state's role in establishing Delta blues and rock and roll, as well as its country, gospel, and soul roots. Appropriately, a long list of legendary Mississippians have been feted through the years with GRAMMYs and GRAMMY Hall Of Fame and Special Merit Awards honors, including Bo Diddley, Willie Dixon, John Lee Hooker, Howlin' Wolf, Robert Johnson, Elvis Presley, Ike Turner, and Muddy Waters, among others.

Of course, the Magnolia State is but one hotbed of melody representing the United States of music. Many states have their own unique auditory tales not only ripe with legends and heritage, but with plenty of fresh artists who continue to proudly wave their respective musical flags.

This latter point is cemented upon review of this year's GRAMMY nominees roster, and one can only imagine where the upcoming celebrations will be centered come the conclusion of the 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards this Sunday.

Maybe it'll be Tennessee, or, more specifically, Music Row in Nashville, the home of country music. Headliners in the Country Field up for GRAMMY gold this year include the likes of Lady Antebellum, Dierks Bentley, Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood, and Zac Brown Band, among others. And as a testament to the state's legacy and diversity, country sweetheart Dolly Parton is among the 2011 recipients of The Recording Academy's Lifetime Achievement Award; and the Queen of Soul, Memphis-born Aretha Franklin, will be honored with a special musical tribute on the GRAMMY telecast featuring Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Hudson and Martina McBride, among others.

Or New York, where the roots in jazz and punk run deep but have given way to hip-hop and indie rock, signaling a diversity in musical talent as broad as the five boroughs of the Big Apple. Representing the hip-hop faction is 10-time GRAMMY winner Jay-Z, who is up for six more awards this year, including Record Of The Year for "Empire State Of Mind" with fellow New Yorker Alicia Keys. Other New York-area artists among this year's GRAMMY nominees include Vampire Weekend, the upstart indie unit nominated for Best Alternative Music Album, and the ubiquitous Lady Gaga, who is vying for her third statue. Out of her six nominations, The Fame Monster is up for Album Of The Year and "Telephone" featuring Beyoncé is up for Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals.

And what about the Pacific Northwest? Alice In Chains, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden typified the Seattle-based grunge rock sound that dominated rock radio throughout the early part of the '90s, and influenced many newer harder-edged bands. Not surprisingly, comeback efforts by Soundgarden ("Black Rain") and Alice In Chains ("A Looking In View") were rewarded with GRAMMY nominations in the Best Hard Rock Performance category. And Pearl Jam continued its reputation as one of the hardest-working and most successful acts in the industry, garnering a Best Rock Album nomination for Backspacer. Former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl is back in the running with his new project Them Crooked Vultures, garnering a nomination in the Best Hard Rock Performance category for "New Fang."

Moving south, the history of California is glittered with a diverse palette of sounds from sunny pop (the Beach Boys) to country rock (Eagles) and hip-hop (Dr. Dre). Santa Barbara, Calif.-native Katy Perry's "California Gurls" became the infectious convertible top-down song of the summer, and helped pave the way to four GRAMMY nominations. A fixture on the '90s West Coast hip-hop scene, Snoop Dogg garnered two nods by way of his collaboration with Perry on "California Gurls." With three GRAMMY wins already in their collective pockets, L.A.-based rock band Maroon 5 is up for Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals for "Misery." And Train, who initially got on the tracks in San Francisco, received a nod in the same category for their hit "Hey, Soul Sister (Live)."

On the highway back down South, when thinking of Georgia it's hard not to have Ray Charles on your mind. Charles scored an impressive 17 GRAMMY wins in his career and nine of his recordings have been inducted into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame. Georgians received their fair share of recognition this year as well. Born in Decatur, Ga., B.o.B was just a teenager when he scored his first record deal, and now he is up for five GRAMMY Awards, including Record Of The Year and Best Rap Song for "Nothin' On You," his collaboration with Hawaii-native Bruno Mars. Atlantan Cee Lo Green, who struck GRAMMY gold with Gnarls Barkley in 2006, is nominated for four awards courtesy of his expletively fun sing-along "F*** You." The song, which is ripe with doo-wop, soul and funk influences, is nominated for two of the highest-profile awards: Record and Song Of The Year. Though born in Kansas City, Kan., newcomer R&B artist Janelle Monáe moved to Atlanta in 2004, receiving a career break when she met Big Boi from OutKast. It proved to be the right move, as Monáe is up for two awards, including Best Contemporary R&B Album for The ArchAndroid. Moving into the second decade of his career, three-time GRAMMY-winning rapper T.I. (once dubbed the "Jay-Z of the South" by Pharrell Williams) is up for two awards, including Best Rap Solo Performance for "I'm Back."

Heading up north, the Motor City is as rich a musical center as there has ever been just on the strength of Motown Records alone. Berry Gordy's label spawned artists ranging from Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye to Michael Jackson and created a sound that has become a city landmark. And though the Super Bowl was held in the home stadium of the Dallas Cowboys, Detroit was hot during the big game thanks to a dramatic Chrysler commercial starring today's hottest Motor City export Eminem, who leads this year's pack of nominees with 10, including Record, Album and Song Of The Year.

And a little further up north, let's not forget another vital part of North America, our friends in Canada. This great neighbor has given us GRAMMY winners such as Joni Mitchell and Neil Young, and this year offers two hot Best New Artist GRAMMY nominees in Justin Bieber and Drake.

Should one seek a crash course in genre-based study, the GRAMMY Museum's Crossroads exhibit is the perfect educational tool. Crossroads explores nearly 160 genres of music, allowing visitors to put their ears to the pulses of the locales that spawned the sounds. Through photos, songs and stories that describe the music and its impact, visitors can connect with the artists behind the songs — even if they've never felt the heat and humidity of a summer in Clarksville, Miss.

For those unable to make it out to the Museum, you can join the geographic fun by creating your own musical map via the GRAMMYs new app, MusicMapper. The app allows users the ability to tag songs and stories in locations associated with personal musical memories, and share their journeys with fellow users.

State boundaries aside, come GRAMMY Sunday viewers will be treated to the diverse melting pot of artists making up the United States of music, from sea to shining sea.

(Matt Sycamore is a Pacific Northwest-based freelance music writer.)

Dolly Parton (L) and Linda Perry (R) perform at the 2019 MusiCares Person of the Year event

Dolly Parton (L) and Linda Perry (R) perform at the 2019 MusiCares Person of the Year event

Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

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5 Must-Watch Performances From 'Dolly Parton: A MusiCares Tribute': Miley Cyrus, Kacey Musgraves, Mavis Staples & More

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Katy Perry, Willie Nelson, Brandi Carlile, Leon Bridges, Yolanda Adams and more delivered heartfelt, rhinestone-encrusted covers of some of country queen Dolly Parton's greatest hits during the lively hour-long special
Ana Monroy Yglesias
MusiCares
Apr 7, 2021 - 4:26 pm

Today (April 7), Dolly Parton: A MusiCares Tribute premieres on Netflix, giving viewers around the world a front-row seat to the star-studded 2019 MusiCares Person of the Year tribute concert honoring 10-time GRAMMY winner Dolly Parton. Miley Cyrus, Willie Nelson, Brandi Carlile, Katy Perry, Kacey Musgraves, Yolanda Adams and more delivered heartfelt, rhinestone-encrusted covers of some of the country queen's greatest hits during the hour-long special hosted by GRAMMY-winning Dolly superfans, Little Big Town.

The annual MusiCares Person Of The Year event, typically held days before the GRAMMY Awards, honors legends who have significantly contributed to the music community through music and philanthropy. The exclusive marquee event also raises funds for MusiCares to support music people in need. Parton was the first country star to be honored as the MusiCares Person of the Year.

While all 10 of the performances, as well as the many Dolly-inspired shimmery outfits, from the 2019 tribute concert are must-sees, here are five of the most jaw-dropping sets from the big night. Pop on your cowboy hat, fire up your Netflix and tune into Dolly Parton: A MusiCares Tribute now.

Miley Cyrus, Shawn Mendes & Mark Ronson Take You On Vacation

(L-R) Mark Ronson, Miley Cyrus and Shawn Mendes perform at the 2019 MusiCares Person Of The Year event

(L-R) Mark Ronson, Miley Cyrus and Shawn Mendes perform at the 2019 MusiCares Person Of The Year event | Photo: VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images

To kick things off in style, Miley and Shawn Mendes, with Mark Ronson on guitar, served up a lively duet of Dolly and Kenny Loggins' 1982 classic, "Islands in the Stream." Looking glam in a black sequin dress, Miley waved to Parton, who's the singer's godmother, sitting and smiling in the front while also looking fab in a black sequin dress herself!

Katy Perry & Kacey Musgraves Take You To The Rodeo

katy perry and kacey musgraves

Katy Perry (L) and Kacey Musgraves (R) at the 2019 MusiCares Person Of The Year concert | Photo: Lester Cohen/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

Perry and Musgraves delivered epic cowgirl-diva glam during their performance of Dolly's GRAMMY-winning 1977 hit, "Here You Come Again." Perry rocked an all-lavender satin look with a cowboy hat, flowing mesh cape, thigh-high stiletto boots and a corset fringe dress, while Musgraves slew in a sparkly, silver-flared pantsuit, topped off with big hair and big hoops.

Mavis Staples, Leon Bridges & Jon Batiste Take You To Church

Mavis Staples, Leon Bridges, Jon Batiste

Mavis Staples, Leon Bridges, Jon Batiste perform at the 2019 MusiCares Person Of The Year concert | Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

Mavis Staples, Leon Bridges and Jon Batiste (on piano), with the help of a choir, raised the crowd up to heavenly heights with a lively, soulful, gospel-tinged version of "Not Enough." The show-stopping rendition of the 2012 track, which Parton and Queen Latifah originally sang for their movie Joyful Noise, was filled with clapping, stomping and grooving—there was plenty of love in our hearts after that!

We Will Always Love Yolanda Adams (& Dolly!)

Yolanda Adams performs at the 2019 MusiCares Person Of The Year event

Yolanda Adams performs at the 2019 MusiCares Person Of The Year event | Photo: VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images

Adams, the "First Lady Of Gospel," delivered an epic, bone-chilling cover of "I Will Always Love You," one of Parton's most enduring classics. Adams looked glamorous in a floor-length red gown with floral lace bell sleeves as she hit those high notes, complemented by some sexy sax.

Vote Now! What's Your Favorite Dolly Parton Song?

Down-Home Dolly Shines For All Of Us

Dolly Parton (L) and Linda Perry (R) perform at the 2019 MusiCares Person of the Year event

Dolly Parton (L) and Linda Perry (R) perform at the 2019e MusiCares Person of the Year event | Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

To close out the epic concert, the "Backwoods Barbie" herself took to the stage to share her sparkle, smile and voice with the audience. Joined by Linda Perry on guitar, Parton performed "Coat of Many Colors," which she called "the song that kind of got me here."

Well, we sure are glad you're here, Dolly!

Dolly Parton: A MusiCares Tribute is streaming now on Netflix.

How MusiCares' Music On A Mission Honored The Resilience Of The Music Community

Dolly Parton sings on stage in a white fringed dress

Dolly Parton in 2019

Photo: Mickey Bernal/WireImage/Getty Images

News
Poll: What's Your Favorite Dolly Parton Song? poll-whats-your-favorite-dolly-parton-song

Poll: What's Your Favorite Dolly Parton Song?

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In celebration of Netflix's 'Dolly Parton: A MusiCares Tribute' out April 7, we want to know your best-loves Dolly Parton tune. From "9 to 5" to "Jolene," which one is your favorite?
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Apr 5, 2021 - 11:35 am

This year, country legend Dolly Parton turned 75, won her 10th career GRAMMY Award and received her Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, which she helped fund with a generous $1 million donation to Nashville's Vanderbilt University Medical Center last year. This week brings more Dolly news as Dolly Parton: A MusiCares Tribute will debut on Netflix, sharing her 2019 Person of the Year tribute concert publicly for the first time.

In celebration of all the wonderful things Dolly has brought into our lives, we want to know what your favorite song of hers is in our latest poll. Vote below, and make sure to tune into the star-studded Dolly tribute concert on Netflix on April 7.

Polls

What's Your Favorite Dolly Parton Song?

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Some of the content on this site expresses viewpoints and opinions that are not those of the Recording Academy. Responsibility for the accuracy of information provided in stories not written by or specifically prepared for the Academy lies with the story's original source or writer. Content on this site does not reflect an endorsement or recommendation of any artist or music by the Recording Academy.