Getty Kelly Clarkson and Dolly Parton
Music and television superstar Kelly Clarkson is teaming up with superstar Dolly Parton for a new duet, and the single finally has a release date.
Clarkson took to Instagram on August 26, 2022, to share that the song will be released on September 9.
“I’m so excited to finally announce the new version of ‘9 to 5’ I recorded with the legendary [Dolly Parton] is coming out on September 9th!! Thank you @ShaneMcanally for making this dream a reality and putting this project together,” she writes in the Instagram post alongside a photo of the two superstars together.
The duet was recorded for the upcoming “Still Working 9 to 5” documentary, which premiered in early 2022.
The Duet Was Called ‘Haunting’
Co-director and producer of the documentary called Clarkson and Parton’s duet “haunting” ahead of the documentary’s premiere, according to Variety.
“We could do a documentary just on the making of the duet,” Gary Lane, a co-director and producer on the documentary told Variety. “It almost feels like launching two projects in one.”
The song, according to the outlet, will have a different feel than the original song did, leaning much less upbeat than the original.
“There was a lot of hope, I would say, in the song,” co-director Camille Hardman told Variety. “And this version is just a little bit melancholic.”
According to Lane, the new version of the song is much slower than the original was.
“Dolly actually called it ‘9 to 5: The Slow Version,’” Lane told Variety. “It’s definitely slowed down and more haunting. Kelly – you can’t believe how she changes it, too. It’s really mind-blowing.”
The film deals with issues of women in the workplace, Variety reports. It, according to Hardman, is “not going to be a hardcore feminist film” and will aim for a wide audience.
“It was a very difficult film to make,” says Hardman, “because it was the women’s movement in tandem with the fandom of ‘9 to 5’ and all the different iterations and how they overlapped.”
Clarkson Left ‘The Voice’ Ahead of Season 22
Clarkson took season 22 off from filming “The Voice,” and she recently explained why she chose to do so.
Clarkson made a stop on the “Today” show on August 23, 2022, and she opened up to Carson Daly, host of “The Voice,” and Hoda Kotb about her decision.
“I hadn’t had a minute and it’s obviously been a rough couple years, so it was really important to me to shut down for a minute,” Clarkson shared, adding that one of her favorite parts of the summer was when she “literally four-wheeled in the mountains and walked along [the water].”
Clarkson told the hosts, “My sister, my nephew, and I, and a couple friends, literally spent the whole summer in the mountains, getting out in nature.”
Her children, River, 8, and Remington, 6, went between her and her ex-husband, Brandon Blackstock, the talk-show host said.
“It was nice because they usually have to travel a lot because of our separation, we were both in Montana so I think my kids felt a little more centered as well,” she shared.
“The Voice” films during the summer for the fall season of the show, meaning that taking the summer off made it impossible for her to join season 22 of the show.
“The Voice” is set to return to NBC on September 19, 2022. The season will feature coaches Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani, Camila Cabello, and John Legend.
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