Lil Nas X’s ‘beautifully sad’ cover of Dolly Parton banger will give you chills
Lil Nas X performed Dolly Parton’s Jolene in Radio 1’s Live Lounge and it was everything (BBC)
As if dropping releasing his debut album, Montero, to intense critical acclaim wasn’t enough, Lil Nas X also found time to pop into the Radio 1 Live Lounge on Tuesday (21 September) to cover Dolly Parton’s iconic “Jolene”.
After treating listeners to a performance of “Montero (Call Me by Your Name” and two other tracks from his new album – “Dead Right Now” and “That’s What I Want” – Lil Nas X delighted everyone with a surprise Dolly Parton cover.
It shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise that he chose a song by the queen of country, given he’s responsible for the cowboy banger “Old Town Road” featuring 1990s country icon, Billy Ray Cyrus.
He explained his song choice by saying: “Chose this because I feel like this song is kind of like beautifully sad, you know? I like the little country twang, so I was like, ‘Let me try this out.'”
He also talked about being a role model in the LGBTQ+ community, saying: “It feels great, but I guess I take everything with a grain of salt. Still, I’m thankful that people see me as an inspiration like that.
“I try not to start living my life by that, like living my life by making sure that people continue to see me as an inspiration.”
The “Jolene” cover was soulful and emotive and a bit of a change of pace from his usual high energy tracks; it showed off his vocal range perfectly.
To say everyone collectively lost their minds over his goosebump-raising version is a bit of an understatement, with fans hitting Twitter to share their lavish praise of their favourite artist.
One woman tweeted: “Lil Nas X version of Jolene is *chefs kiss*”
Others called for Nas to do a duet with Dolly Parton: “Just listening to Lil Nas X on BBC radio, covering Jolene. If he doesn’t do a duet with Dolly the world will be poorer.”
However, he actually name checked a different music icon, saying that he would love to work with Rihanna.
You can watch his amazing performance below:
