Surprise! Another collaboration between Zach Williams and Dolly Parton was just released. The song, “Lookin’ For You,” is from the extended version of Williams’ A Hundred Highways album, out now. “Lookin’ For You” follows “There Was Jesus,” the pair’s first collaboration together, released in 2019.
“We were filming Dolly’s Christmas special in 2022, and Dolly asked me what I had been working on,” Williams recalls. “I was about to release the A Hundred Highways album, and I told her that I had this one song that is probably my favorite on the album called “Lookin’ For You.” I played it through my phone on set for her.”
Perhaps surprisingly, it was the Country Music Hall of Fame member who volunteered to join Williams on the feel-good track.
“I about fell over when I heard it, I thought it was the best thing,” Parton remembers. “I told him, ‘Well, there’s another big hit for you! But, did you forget to ask ME to sing on it with you?’”
Parton might have asked to join Williams on “Lookin’ For You,” but it was the gospel singer who reached out to Parton to make “There Was Jesus” a duet.
“I reached out to Dolly and she heard it, and said that she thought it was a special song and wanted to be a part of it,” Williams previously told Everything Nash. “She just from day one was a champion, and supported the song. There’s no doubt why she’s had the career she had, and people love her so much. I mean, she’s the most down-to-earth, humble person I’ve ever met. She’s never forgotten about the little guy either.”
Joining Williams on the song unquestionably gave the song a big boost, but it helped her as well, achieving her first No. 1 on the Billboard Christian Airplay chart, thanks to the song’s success.
“Having a No. 1 record at any time is a great thing, but having a No. 1 faith-based record during these crazy times is even greater,” Parton told Billboard. “I feel humbled and blessed to be part of this wonderful song with Zach Williams. It does my heart good to know that we have touched the lives of so many people.”
As soon as Parton heard “There Was Jesus,” she knew she wanted to lend her talents to the inspirational tune.
“I grew up in the church,” Parton told K-Love. “This particular song, it was just like a Godsend. When I first heard it, I thought, ‘What a well-written song’ … Such wonderful writing. I just loved all the lines on the song. I just felt it. I felt like Jesus was in the room. I’d been actually thinking about doing more faith-based music, and I’d been kind of waiting, and writing some things on my own. But when this came, I felt like it was really a gift from God.”
Find “Lookin’ For You,” and all of Williams’ music at ZachWilliamsMusic.com.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of True Public Relations / Robby Klein