WATCH: Kelly Clarkson & Dolly Parton’s ‘9 to 5’ Duet Brings the House Down

The Kelly Clarkson Show

“The Kelly Clarkson Show” fans were in for a treat on December 1 when legendary country star Dolly Parton stopped by for a performance and an interview with host Kelly Clarkson.


Clarkson & Parton’s Duet on ‘9 to 5’ Brought the House Down

For their “9 to 5” duet, “The Voice” coach started off putting her typical Clarkson flair on the song before introducing Parton, who came in on the first chorus to thunderous applause from the talk show’s audience. The two legendary ladies put on a great performance for the studio audience, absolutely bringing the house down.

“A national treasure dueting with a national treasure. What a treat,” wrote one fan on YouTube.

Another fan on Instagram wrote, “Spectacular! The most likable women in music, what a duo! Smiled like a goon through the whole thing. Now let’s get to planning the Dolly and Kelly world tour!”

The show also posted to Instagram a hilarious behind-the-scenes video of Parton and Clarkson rehearsing their “9 to 5” performance and Parton says to Clarkson, “Let’s figure out what we’re gonna do on the singing part,” and rips off “putting money in his wallet!” and Clarkson starts dancing around the set, pumping her arms in the air in jubilation, to which Parton cracks, “Get your a** over here!”


Parton Also Revealed What Happened the 1st Time She Heard Whitney Houston’s Version of ‘I Will Always Love You’

During the interview, Clarkson asked Parton about the first time she heard Whitney Houston’s cover of her hit “I Will Always Love You,” which Parton released as a country song in 1973 and then Houston covered for “The Bodyguard” in 1994. Both versions were huge hits.

Parton said that actually, she was approached by “Bodyguard” star Kevin Costner about using her song in the movie and she said yes, but then she never heard back from anybody and had no idea if they recorded it or not — until she was driving to her house in Brentwood outside of Nashville one day and Houston’s version came on the radio.

“I was just driving along and I just heard this, ‘If I… should stay…’ and it’s one of those things like a dog hearing a whistle … I heard it on the radio and when it went into ‘And I!’ [on the chorus], it was like I just freaked out,” said Parton. “I had to pull over to the side because I honestly thought I was gonna wreck. It was the most overwhelming feeling and you know how great [that version] was.”

Parton also told Clarkson that when Clarkson performed the song for the 2022 Academy of Country Music Awards back in March, it made Parton “so emotional” and she felt like Houston was looking down on them. Houston tragically passed away in 2012 at the age of 48 when she accidentally drowned in a hotel bathtub, with heart disease and cocaine use listed as contributing factors, according to the BBC.

“Whitney, she would’ve been so proud of you because I felt like she was watching you. You absolutely killed it, seriously, I was so emotional,” said Parton.

Clarkson also brought up Parton’s recent induction into the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame, which Parton said was such an honor, though she also explained why she initially turned down her nomination.

“When I got into the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame, when they talked about that, I didn’t realize it was more than just [for rock musicians]. To me, I’d always thought about the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame being for people that spent their life in rock music like [I did in] country music. You don’t see Led Zeppelin in the Country Music Hall of Fame, you know? So when they first said that, I thought well, I don’t know that I belong there. I don’t want to take votes from other people who spent their life [in rock ‘n roll],” Parton explained, adding, “I was very honored … I was honored and I’m proud.”

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