A Tribute to Dolly Parton — My Biggest Musical Influence

Some people hear a song and it changes their mood. I heard Dolly Parton and it changed my life.

Growing up in Oklahoma City, Dolly was everywhere — on the radio, on TV, in my mama's kitchen. But she wasn't just background music. She was proof. Proof that a girl from a small town with big hair and even bigger dreams could make the whole world listen.

The Voice That Taught Me Mine

Before I ever stepped on a stage, before I opened for Garth Brooks or Blake Shelton or Toby Keith, I was a kid singing “Jolene” into a hairbrush in my bedroom. Dolly's voice had this thing — it was delicate and powerful at the same time. Soft enough to break your heart, strong enough to fill an arena. That duality is what I've always chased in my own singing.

She taught me that you don't have to scream to be heard. You just have to mean every single word.

More Than Music

What makes Dolly different from every other artist I admire is that she never let anyone put her in a box. Singer? Yes. Songwriter? Legend. Actress? Absolutely. Businesswoman? Built an empire. Theme park owner? Why not. Philanthropist who gave millions of books to children? That's just who she is.

As someone who has been told my whole career that I'm “too many things” — model, actress, singer, designer — Dolly gave me permission to be all of it. She showed me that being multi-hyphenate isn't a weakness. It's a superpower.

The Oklahoma Connection

Dolly is from the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, and I'm from Oklahoma City. Different states, same spirit. We both come from places where people work hard, love hard, and don't apologize for who they are. That small-town grit is something you carry with you no matter how far you go — whether it's Nashville, New York, or Paris Fashion Week.

Every time I walk a runway or step into a recording booth, I carry a little piece of that Oklahoma girl who listened to “Coat of Many Colors” and thought, “If she can do it, maybe I can too.”

What Dolly Taught Me

• Be unapologetically yourself. Dolly never dimmed her sparkle for anyone. Not the critics, not the industry, not the people who underestimated her because of how she looked.
• Write your own story. She's written over 3,000 songs. Three thousand. She didn't wait for someone to hand her a narrative — she created her own.
• Kindness is power. In an industry full of egos, Dolly leads with generosity. Her Imagination Library has given over 200 million books to children. That's legacy.
• Never stop reinventing. From country to pop to rock to bluegrass — she's done it all and made it look effortless. That fearlessness inspires everything I do.

A Dream I Haven't Given Up On

I'll say it out loud: one day, I want to meet Dolly Parton. Not as a fan (okay, definitely as a fan), but as a fellow artist who was shaped by her courage. I want to look her in the eye and say, “Thank you for showing me that a girl who doesn't fit the mold can build her own.”

Until then, I'll keep singing. I'll keep walking runways. I'll keep designing clothes that make women feel powerful. And every time I do, there's a little bit of Dolly in it.

Thank you, Dolly. For the music, the courage, and the reminder that it costs a lot of money to look this cheap. 💛