Taylor Swift dedicates VMA Video Of The Year award to “ultimate showgirl” Dolly Parton

Taylor Swift dedicated her Video Of The Year victory at last night’s MTV VMAs to the late Dolly Parton, describing the country legend as the “ultimate showgirl”.

• READ MORE: The Big Read – Dolly Parton: “I take care of business”.

Swift picked up the night’s top prize at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles yesterday (September 27) for ‘The Fate Of Ophelia’, having written and directed the video herself.

Depois de agradecer aos fãs e à equipe por trás do visual, ela voltou sua atenção para Parton, que faleceu no mês passado com 80 anos.

She went on to praise the vivid storytelling in Parton’s songwriting, saying listening to her music could feel like watching a music video, and hailed the way the singer channelled the events of her life and career into “love and gratitude” for her fans.

Swift added that she felt fortunate to have been one of those fans and said the world had been lucky to share the planet with Parton.

Taylor Swift dedicates Video of the Year award to “the ultimate showgirl, Dolly Parton” at #VMAs pic.twitter.com/fcuFrVQajW.

The tribute came just over a month after Swift shared an emotional message following Parton’s death, calling her a “gift that kept on giving” and praising her combination of “true grace and true grit”.

The admiration was mutual. In 2022, Parton praised Swift for standing up for herself amid criticism of her songwriting, describing her as “a great writer – with or without anybody”.

Swift também falou recentemente sobre sentir uma conexão cada vez mais forte com a cena de Nashville, onde começou sua carreira. No mês passado, ela disse que se sentia “mais leal” às suas “raízes country” do que nunca, creditando as pessoas que encontrou lá por moldá-la tanto como artista quanto como compositora.

Elsewhere during last night’s VMAs, Swift made history by becoming the most-awarded artist in the ceremony’s history.

She entered the night tied with Beyoncé on 30 wins, before moving ahead when she received the inaugural Artist Director Honors, recognising her work behind the camera.

Swift posteriormente ganhou o prêmio de Melhor Direção por 'Opalite' e o de Vídeo do Ano por 'The Fate Of Ophelia', elevando seu total de carreiras para 33 VMAs.

A cerimônia também contou com uma homenagem separada a Parton por Kacey Musgraves, que interpretou ‘I Will Always Love You’ ao lado de imagens de arquivo da falecida cantora.

Musgraves had previously honoured Parton with a cover of ‘Here You Come Again’ just days after her death.

Swift also used the ceremony to premiere her new ‘Patient Zero’ video, starring Dakota Johnson and Colin Farrell, following the release of ‘The Life Of A Showgirl: The Encore’ last week.

In NME’s three-star review of ‘The Life Of A Showgirl’, Kristen S. Hé wrote: “To seek escapism is not a sin, but the best pop music makes the personal feel like life or death.”.

A voz definidora do mundo em música e cultura pop: revelando o que há de novo e o que vem por aí desde 1952.

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