Dolly Parton will be debuting a new song at the ACM Awards, but it won’t be a country one. The 77-year-old announces she will perform her original track, “World on Fire,” which is from her forthcoming rock album, while also hosting the televised ceremony alongside her good friend, Garth Brooks .
“On the show in general, we want to present all the great country artists and the things that they’ve done to win the awards, whether it be Song of the Year, or songwriter, whatever they do on those shows,” Parton shares on Good Morning America. “Usually they do all of the up-and-coming artists as well. But on this one, we’re going to be celebrating them. But at the end of the show, I am going to debut the first single off of my rock album. The rock album is called Rock Star, and we’ve got a lot of wonderful, great celebrities, a lot of the older, rock artists, in addition to all these iconic, wonderful songs.”
Parton, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last year, reveals that she wrote her new rock song, which she calls “fitting to the times.”
“Liar, liar, the world’s on fire, whatcha gonna do when it all burns down,” Parton says, revealing some of the song’s lyrics. “So, it’s really kind of about the times. and how we can do a little better if we try to try to heal the divide and just get along a little better. And so, it’s really got a great message to it, but it’s also good and solid, kind of like a rock anthem.”
Parton is not only excited to perform “World on Fire,” but to share the stage with Brooks for the live broadcast, marking the first time they will host an event together.
“I love Garth,” Parton says. “We’ve known each other for many years, and we’ve been backstage on shows together. But he’s never hosted a show. I’ve been hosting shows off and on through the years. But this was a big deal for me to get to work with Garth, so we’re looking forward to that. Everybody’s been talking about it, so hopefully we’ll measure up. And I think we will.”
The Country Music Hall of Fame member is especially eager to host the ACM Awards, if only to keep people laughing for a few hours.
“There’s always things that just happen usually on live shows,” Parton reflects to Billboard.. “Sometimes your best comedy are things that might even happen with someone in the audience or something is said and you just pick up on it. We’re country people; most of the artists are kind of like people we grew up with, so you play off of that, and it’s usually entertaining. Whether it’s funny or not, it’s usually entertaining.”
The 2023 ACM Awards will take place on Thursday, May 11 at 8:00 PM ET, streaming live on Amazon Prime Video, from Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas. A limited number of tickets are available at SeatGeek.com.
Read ‘Dolly Parton: 11 Things to Know About the Country Music Queen’ here.