Sabrina Carpenter Remembers Her Hero Dolly Parton

Parton spoke to Rolling Stone when Carpenter appeared on the cover of the June 2025 issue of the magazine and described how well she felt their vocals meshed on the track. “Our voices are very similar,” Parton said. “I can’t tell sometimes which part’s her and which part’s me. And we look like relatives. She looks like she could be my little sister. We’re little women, doing big things.”

She also shared that her teenage nieces and nephews were huge fans of Carpenter. “When they found out that I was going to do something with [Carpenter], oh Lord, I became a big shot,” Parton said. “I was just Aunt Dolly till then.”

Parton recalled spending hours in the pickup truck during the video shoot, and said they’d be so deep in conversation that their mics had to be shut off at one point. “I bet they’re squirmin’ now, dying to know what we’re talking about!” Parton said. “There was a lot we didn’t mind, but there’s just such a thing as your privacy. I remember saying, ‘Don’t ever sacrifice your morals and your soul and your principles and your own values.’ I’ll always treasure what we did. I’ll hold her precious in my heart and in my head.”

In that same cover story, Carpenter spoke about how much she valued Parton’s clever, good-natured approach, even in the face of scrutiny and criticism: “She’s always dealt with it with wit and humor.”