Even when Dolly Parton wasn’t onstage performing or co-hosting the 2022 ACM Awards, she still had an outsized presence. The Country Music Hall of Fame member received a one-of-a-kind tribute during Monday’s streaming show when pop star (and talk-show host) Kelly Clarkson sang “I Will Always Love You.”
It was a typically majestic performance for Clarkson, who wowed not only with huge notes and vocal runs, but with the restraint she showed in the performance.
Most famously, Whitney Houston’s revamped 1992 version for The Bodyguard went on to massive global success, earning the late singer her biggest hit and becoming one of the highest-selling singles of all time. Clarkson’s performance on the Academy of Country Music Awards incorporated elements of both Parton’s and Houston’s versions of “I Will Always Love You.”