After Grammy Award winner Lil Nas X rocked the internet last week with his cover of the Dolly Parton hit, “Jolene,” Miss Dolly herself rocked Nas’s world by praising his performance on Twitter.
Lil Nas recorded the 1974 classic for BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge. Lil Nas said he chose the song because “I feel like this song is kind of beautifully sad, you know? I like the little country twang, so I was like, ‘Let me try this out.’”
Fans were instantly smitten with his stripped-down, brooding take on the song (complete with original pronouns intact, of course).
On Wednesday, Dolly took to Twitter to share her glowing assessment.
“I was so excited when someone told me that Lil Nas X had done my song ‘Jolene,’” wrote the legendary singer. “I had to find it and listen to it immediately… and it’s really good.”
“Of course, I love him anyway,” she added. “I was surprised and I’m honored and flattered.”
“I hope he does good for both of us. Thank you Lil Nas X.”
Lil Nas responded in his usual unfiltered manner: “HOLY SHIT”
HOLY SHIT https://t.co/8n1pAntF2O
— ☆ ‧dreamboy··‧̩̥˟͙冬˟͙‧̩̥l (@LilNasX) September 29, 2021
Fans loved the interaction and, citing Lil Nas’s past country-crossover success of his blockbuster hit “Old Town Road,” began calling for a collaboration between the two artists.
Duet please…🎶 pic.twitter.com/cbdmHnXJbi
— Joseph Carreras (@CarrerasJoseph) September 29, 2021
You said yoy wanted to do Country again, SO MAKE THIS COLLAB HAPPEN.
please? pic.twitter.com/ugyLNycBWS
— Zay (@greenstatic92) September 30, 2021
You have been blessed by The Goddess. Go forth and do good works in her name.
(Seriously, HOLY SHIT.)
— Nefarious Means (@MeansNefarious) September 29, 2021
YALL SO WHOLESOME 🤍 pic.twitter.com/utcIvVKDBM
— major 🍵 MONTERO (@lilnasxmajor) September 29, 2021
You have been given the seal of Approval by the Goddess of Country music, herself. Go forth and continue to be GREAT!!
— Here ForTheComments1 (@forthecomments1) September 30, 2021
Ha. What a treat. A beautiful man singing a song written by a beautiful woman about a beautiful woman stealing the love of a beautiful man. The circle of life.
— Matt Flanagan (@kb6jra) September 30, 2021
Dude! You’ve got Dolly’s approval, ultimate boss level achieved pic.twitter.com/zv71q7uoWg
— deathandfood (@deathandfood) September 30, 2021
Thank you Lil’ Nas for showing us with your stripped-down version how limited you are as an actual singer and reminding us of how incredibly talented Dolly Parton is.