Miley Cyrus has revealed her final conversation with her late godmother Dolly Parton.
The country music icon died on Aug 25 after a “brief battle with cancer” at the age of 80.
Speaking to Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, 53, Miley said: “The time that we talked, which was the last time we would talk, it was actually me telling her about this record because even though we are so different, that’s what made us so perfect for each other is that she knew this, and I know this.”
The Flowers hitmaker thinks Dolly’s authenticity is what drew people to her.
Miley, 33, continued: “She’s known for, I guess, the faux, the fake, the hair, the makeup, the show of it, but there’s a part of her that’s just what I think everyone gravitates toward — how real she is and how authentic she is.
“And there was a time in my life, I mean, we hit on it with Hannah [Montana], so much of my life’s about persona.”
The three-time Grammy winner credited the Jolene legend with helping her navigate life as Hannah Montana in the Disney Channel sitcom, in which Dolly played Aunt Dolly, the fictional godmother of Miley Stewart, mirroring their real-life relationship.
Miley said: “I think a way that I could look at that as, you can still have a persona and still be who you are, is because I had Dolly.”
She added: “Sometimes I call what I do drag because the way that I present myself is just someone that is so different from the person that feeds the tortoise every morning. But again, that person’s inside of me — I just kind of have her off.”
The Wrecking Ball artist recalled telling Dolly that she “always” cries when performing live and the 9 to 5 chart topper encouraging her to embrace her emotional side.
Referring to her performance of End of the World on My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman, Miley remembered: “I start crying, and she watched me on Letterman and was like, ‘What are you crying about?’
“I was like, ‘That song is about the world ending and me never seeing my mom again.’
“She was like, ‘Music is escapism. Let them cry. Get through it.’ I was like, ‘I know, but this is who I am,’ and she loved me for it.”
The Bass Persuades artist also became emotional when she and Dolly co-hosted NBC’s Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party in 2023.
Miley said: “I cried singing I Will Always Love You with her. But I think she knew at that time that the reason I was crying is the reason that I cry now, ’cause I know that so many — not just Dolly, which is unique. That’s family.
“But so many of my really stabilising peers that I have in my life, they’re generations before me, and they’ve laid down brick-by-brick the road that I travel now, and they aren’t always going to be here for me to call them and say, ‘What do I do now?,’ which I always did with Dolly.”
Miley added that she admired Dolly because she was “just always right about stuff”.
The day after Dolly’s nephew-and-head of security, Bryan Seaver, announced her death on August 25, Miley penned a heartfelt tribute.
Sharing a throwback photo of her godmother on Instagram, she wrote: “The feeling of losing my Aunt Dolly is beyond what feels right to share. Our most sacred moments were private and they’ll stay there behind the stage, beneath the glamour and between our hearts.
“What I know is Dolly would want me to feel it, write a song about it, and then continue on and be strong. I have an angel by my side. I always have. One of our last conversations was about music and metamorphosis.
“I will always love her and want to make her proud. My heart breaks for the world, her family and friends who will miss her deeply. We’re in this loss together and we will see her in all of the most beautiful things @dollyparton (sic).”
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