Dolly appeared in Dandridge, Tennessee on Thursday in a special ceremony to celebrate a new commemorative coin and the release of the 90th eagle from the American Eagle Foundation, based out of her Dollywood themepark. In the the woods overlooking Douglas Lake, Dolly hiked up a mountain trail in her 4-inch heels as she joked, “Well, if you’re looking for my wilderness shoes, here they are!” Dolly named the bird Liberty before pulling the cord and setting it free, saying “I thought that sounded better than Baldy.” Video coverage of the event is available from WBIR. Read more about the ceremony from the Associated Press.
Dolly appeared live via satellite from Dollywood today to chat with Fox News about the park’s 23rd season, the new River Battle ride, her recent American Idol appearance, and 9 To 5: The Musical. During the second segment of the interview, Dolly got a surprise from the host when he revealed that Dolly’s 9 To 5 costar Lily Tomlin was on the phone listening in. The two chatted briefly about the upcoming musical before the host revealed another surprise to Dolly as he introduced Michael Johns, one of the final nine American Idol contestants that Dolly mentored last week who was just voted off on last night’s show. Check out both segments from Fox News:
Dolly made other appearances throughout Dollywood today to celebrate the park’s 2008 season. She first appeared at the park’s new River Battle water ride wearing a red leather raincoat saying, “I’ve threatened them about the water. Even though I’ve got my raincoat on, I’d just as soon not get wet cause I might fall apart!” Video from that event is available from the Knoxville News-Sentinel. Dolly then appeared at a new Mexican dance show in Dollywood before doing a brief parade through the park. Later that evening, Dolly appeared on top of a grass-covered float in her annual Dolly Parade down the Parkway in Pigeon Forge. Check out more coverage and a few photos from Dollymania. Fans who attended any of the events today are encouraged to write and send us photos!
An official website for Dolly’s upcoming 9 To 5 Broadway musical was just launched after Dolly’s recent House Of Blues appearance in Los Angeles. Fans can listen to Dolly read a letter about the upcoming musical, send a Dolly ecard to their friends, and will soon be able to watch video footage of Dolly performing at the House of Blues. 9 To 5: The Musical opens in Los Angeles on September 3rd and runs through October 19th before heading to Broadway in 2009. Group tickets for its Los Angeles run are currently available from Center Theatre Group with single tickets going on-sale to the general public on June 3rd.
Dolly’s musical also received a great deal of media attention following her House Of Blues appearance. Further coverage and photos from Dolly at the House Of Blues is available from Entertainment Weekly and Playbill. The Hollywood Reporter also has also posted video coverage of the House of Blues event:
Dolly Parton week continued tonight on American Idol with all of the Idol contestants beginning the show with a performance of Dolly’s “9 To 5″. Dolly later performed the brand new single from her Backwoods Barbie album, “Jesus & Gravity”, complete with a gospel choir and her full band. After the performance, Dolly joked with host Ryan Seacrest, saying “I’ve got Jesus and you’ve got Simon!” Then after a round of mixed performances on last night’s show, Ramiele Malubay was sent home with the other eight contestants heading on to the next round of competitions. All of last night’s live performances from the contestants, as well as full-length studio versions, are now available for download on iTunes.
American Idol kicked off Dolly Parton week tonight with a bang as each contestant took on some of Dolly’s biggest hit songs. The show began with an unfunny Ryan Seacrest making an April Fools Day joke followed by a brief but cute video segment highlighting Dolly’s vast career as a singer/songwriter followed by her singing “9 To 5″ at a piano with all the contestants. Most contestants gave decent, or as Simon Cowell would say, “unmemorable” performances of Dolly’s songs with a few notable exceptions: Michael Johns ended the show with an powerful rendition of “It’s All Wrong, But It’s All Right” to which all the judges loved. Carly Smithson gave “Here You Come Again” a more mellow yet emotional touch with mixed reviews from the judges. Jason Castro made a good song choice by picking Dolly’s Oscar-nominated “Travelin’ Thru” which fit his folksy singer/songwriter voice. But the performance of the night was David Archuleta as he belted out an emotional “Smoky Mountain Memories”, receiving high praise from the crowd and judges with Randy Jackson calling it the best performance of the night and Simon Cowell saying he was “absolutely on the money”. Here is the full list of tonight’s performances:
All performances from tonight’s show, both the live versions and full-length studio versions, will be available tomorrow for download on iTunes. Tune into American Idol’s live results show tomorrow night at 9 PM to watch Dolly perform her new single “Jesus & Gravity” from Backwoods Barbie. Here’s a clip from tonight’s show:
Dolly performed songs from her new Backwoods Barbie album before an intimate group of fans at The Roxy last Friday in Los Angeles. Fans in attendance say Dolly looked and sounded “amazing” as she took time to interact with the crowd, high-fiving and signing autogaphs for fans at the foot of the stage. Numerous celebrities were also spotted in the audience including comedienne Kathy Griffin, 9 To 5: The Musical star Alison Janney, Dita Von Teese, Katy Perry, Emmy Rossum, and power-blogger Perez Hilton. Dolly’s six-song set list was as follows: “Better Get To Livin’”, “Backwoods Barbie”, “9 To 5″, “Jolene”, “I Will Always Love You” and her newest single, “Jesus & Gravity”. Read coverage of the concert from NME and check out a few photos from the concert in our Photo Gallery. If you have photos from this event that you would like to share, please e-mail them and we’ll put them up!
Dolly appeared at the House Of Blues in Los Angeles on Friday to give the press a sneak peak at the upcoming Broadway musical 9 To 5. Joining producer Robert Greenblatt, writer Patricia Resnick, and the main cast, Dolly fielded questions from the press and performed “9 To 5″ and “Backwoods Barbie” for all in attendance. Cast members at the event included Alison Janney who plays Violet Newstead, Stephanie J. Block as Judy Bernly, and Megan Hilty as Dolly’s character, Doralee Rhodes. Previews for 9 To 5: The Musical will begin September 3rd at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles and will run through October 19. Read more from the event from Broadway World and LAIST. A video segment that includes an interview with Dolly and some performance footage from the event is also available from Broadway World. Finally, fans can catch an interview with Dolly from the event on Monday’s episode of Entertainment Tonight. Check your local listings for air times. (more…)
Dolly is scheduled to play Humphrey’s Concerts By The Bay in San Diego, California on August 1st as part of the second leg of her 2008 Backwoods Barbie Tour. Pre-sale tickets are available to Dolly-ite members starting at 10 AM local time this Wednesday until 10 PM this Friday. Tickets go on-sale to the public this Saturday at noon via Ticket Master.
Dolly-ite members can also currently enter to win tickets to Dolly’s private club show in Los Angeles this Friday. Tickets to the show are being given away to 15 lucky winners, but all entries must be received by 9 AM Wednesday.
Dolly will be interviewed on this weekend’s edition of Top 20 Countdown on GAC as she talks about her new album, Backwoods Barbie and her 2008 Backwoods Barbie Tour. The show premiers Friday at 8 PM on GAC with repeats on Saturday at midnight, 10 AM and 5:30 PM EST, and on Sunday at 1 PM.
Dolly’s been all over country radio the past few days chatting up Backwoods Barbie and her latest single, “Jesus & Gravity”. On Monday last week, Dolly phoned into Detroit’s 106.7 FOX radio station, revealing she has worked up Jimmy Dicken’s song “I’m Little, But I’m Loud” for her 2008 Backwoods Barbie World Tour and that her upcoming children’s book, I Am A Rainbow, is due out this June. Download the entire interview from the 106.7 FOX website.
Then on Monday this week, Dolly chatted up Chicago’s U.S. 99.5 about how she fell in love with the city when she was there filming Straight Talk and what she would say if goddaughter Miley Cyrus came to her asking to get breast augmentation surgery. Download the interview from the U.S. 99.5 website. Dolly was also interviewed on WQDR 92.7 in Raleigh, North Carolina on Monday although their site has not posted the interview as of this update.
Tuesday, Dolly talked to WSOC in Charlotte, North Carolina, about the various presidents she has met over the years and Dolly makes a hilarious comment about why she can’t socialize with the Queen of England. Fans can download the interview in two parts from the WSOC website. Philadelphia’s 92.5 XTU also interviewed Dolly on Tuesday but they have also not posted the interview as of this update.
This Friday, fellow country singer Marty Stuart will interview Dolly on his XM Satellite program, American Odyssey.
Dolly appeared in Dandridge, Tennessee on Thursday in a special ceremony to celebrate a new commemorative coin and the release of the 90th eagle from the American Eagle Foundation, based out of her Dollywood themepark. In the the woods overlooking Douglas Lake, Dolly hiked up a mountain trail in her 4-inch heels as she joked, “Well, if you’re looking for my wilderness shoes, here they are!” Dolly named the bird Liberty before pulling the cord and setting it free, saying “I thought that sounded better than Baldy.” Video coverage of the event is available from WBIR. Read more about the ceremony from the Associated Press.
Dolly Parton week continued tonight on 
Dolly appeared at the House Of Blues in Los Angeles on Friday to give the press a sneak peak at the upcoming Broadway musical 9 To 5. Joining producer Robert Greenblatt, writer Patricia Resnick, and the main cast, Dolly fielded questions from the press and performed 
