Ella Langley Sings 'Jolene' at the CMA Dolly Parton Tribute

Ella Langley sang "Jolene" at CMA Presents I Will Always Love You: A Celebration of Dolly Parton, the two-hour tribute that aired on ABC and Disney+ on Wednesday, October 21. Katy Perry introduced her. The special is streaming now on Disney+ and Hulu if you missed it.

The show came from Belmont University's Fisher Center for the Performing Arts in Nashville. Parton's family, friends and fans were in the room, about two months after she died on August 25 at 80.

Katy Perry's introduction

"For me, Dolly is the blueprint," Perry said onstage before Langley came out, as Holler and ABC News reported. She called Parton "the greatest champion" of women artists and talked about how Parton showed women they could be strong and kind at the same time. It was a good setup for Langley, who's built her whole career her own way.

Why "Jolene"

Langley told ABC News' Lara Spencer that she's been singing "Jolene" her whole career, from college bar gigs to this year's arena shows. "As a songwriter, you have to respect [Parton] so much," she said. "She's so visual with her lyrics and that song paints such a perfect picture of what she's trying to tell in that story." She said she felt "honored" to be on the special.

It wasn't her first "Jolene" for Dolly, either. A few days after Parton died, Langley sang it at her own show at Neville Arena in Auburn, Alabama. "Tonight's show didn't feel right without doing something like this," she told that crowd, according to fan video cited by American Songwriter. We covered her first message after Parton's death here.

How fans reacted

Fans didn't agree on this one. Whiskey Riff collected the comments. Many viewers said the song didn't suit her voice or style ("This was not the right dolly song choice for her voice"). Plenty of others loved that she did it her own way: "She made this her own and crushed it! Dolly would be so proud." Whiskey Riff pointed out that Langley, like several other performers that night, sang it lower than Parton's original key and changed some of the arrangement. The writer preferred her Auburn version, saying it fit her voice and style better.

Our take: "Jolene" might be the hardest Dolly song to cover, because everyone already knows exactly how Dolly sounds on it. From what we've read, Langley didn't try to copy her. TMZ called it a "sultry" take. Some people wanted the original. She gave them her own version.

The rest of the night

Langley was one of about 20 performers. The lineup also included Reba McEntire, Lainey Wilson, Vince Gill, Carly Pearce, Kelsea Ballerini, Brad Paisley, Zac Brown, Ashley McBryde, Molly Tuttle, Lady A, Little Big Town, Darius Rucker and Kristin Chenoweth. A student ensemble from Belmont's "Dolly U" program also performed. Carrie Underwood closed the show with "I Will Always Love You." ABC News reported that the special raised $1 million for Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, her book-gifting program for kids.

Langley's next big TV night is the 2026 CMA Awards on November 18, where she has nine nominations, more than anyone else this year.