Dolly Parton has never been just the Queen of Country Music. For an artist of her reach, even that crown feels too small for her five-foot frame.
She can command the Grand Ole Opry one moment and share a Hollywood soundstage with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin the next. She wrote the songs, starred in the films, built the businesses, donated millions of books, created a theme park empire and turned towering wigs into part of an instantly recognizable brand.
Parton is rarer than a superstar: she is a public figure almost everyone seems willing to embrace. In America, that alone borders on miraculous.
That enduring affection is the real legacy of the Smoky Mountain Songbird, who remains one of country music’s most beloved and commercially powerful figures at 80.
But can anyone really stand in Dolly’s place?
Music industry insiders say Nashville is already buzzing with debate, as teams behind established names and rising contenders position their stars for the next era of country dominance.
Shania Twain helped push country beyond its old borders. Carrie Underwood has the powerhouse voice. Miranda Lambert carries deep genre credibility. Ella Langley has the momentum of a breakout. Still, many who know the business argue that none of them can match the full force of Parton’s cultural impact.
Dolly Parton has never been merely the Queen of Country Music; the title is too small for her five-foot frame
She could stand at the Grand Ole Opry, then walk onto a Hollywood soundstage beside actresses Jane Fonda (left) and Lily Tomlin (right)
One obvious answer is Taylor Swift.
She began as a teenage Nashville songwriter. Country became country-pop, then pop, then stadium culture. Much like Parton, Swift stopped belonging to a genre long ago.
On paper, Swift has everything it takes to fill Parton’s boots: country roots, songwriting credibility, business instincts, crossover appeal and global fame.
‘Taylor is the only woman alive who comes close to Dolly’s combination of songwriting, business power and global reach,’ a veteran Nashville executive tells me before adding the cutting caveat: ‘But Dolly made people forget their politics. Taylor brings politics into the room.’
Exactly.
Swift endorsed Kamala Harris in 2024 and has made no secret of her disdain for Donald Trump. So, Swift can kiss her Dolly crown goodbye.
Parton understood something almost no celebrity grasps anymore: Why opine on politics and risk alienating half your audience?
She spent decades refusing to become property of either tribe, declining the Presidential Medal of Freedom three times: twice from Trump, for personal and Covid-related reasons, and later from Joe Biden because she worried accepting it after rejecting Trump would look partisan.
As Parton put it: ‘I learned a long time ago, keep your damn mouth shut if you want to stay in show business… I’m not in politics, I’m an entertainer.’
Beyoncé belongs in the conversation, too.
Her country turn reinforced something Parton proved for decades: genres get more interesting when somebody opens the doors. Cowboy Carter made history, the supporting tour grossed over $400 million, making it the highest-grossing country roadshow ever, and the record itself won Best Country Album and Album of the Year at the 2025 Grammy Awards.
On paper, Swift has everything it takes to fill Parton’s boots: country roots, songwriting credibility, business instincts, crossover appeal and global fame
Beyoncé’s country turn reinforced something Parton proved for decades: genres get more interesting when somebody opens the doors
But Nashville power players don’t see her ability to sustain a presence.
‘Let’s stop pretending Cowboy Carter was some flawless country masterpiece,’ one Grammy award winner tells me. ‘I thought the album was wildly overrated. And that Jolene cover? A complete misfire. Dolly’s original is heartbreaking because it’s vulnerable — Beyoncé turned it into a threat. That completely misses what makes the song so devastating.’
The source adds that Beyoncé’s enormous talent isn’t the issue:
‘Beyoncé is one of the greatest performers alive. But the doesn’t mean you’re automatically great at country music. Nashville was terrified to say that out loud because nobody wanted to be accused of having some ulterior motive.’
There are a few other honorable mentions.
Reba McEntire is royalty: funny, warm and adored across generations.
‘Reba has the affection, credibility and humor,’ a country insider tells me. ‘But Dolly escaped country. She belonged to people who didn’t even know they liked country music.’
Grandmothers, gay men, church ladies, drag queens, conservatives, liberals, children and movie stars loved Parton. She achieved celebrity’s rarest trick: broad affection without becoming bland.
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Lainey Wilson may have the most interesting future because she has something increasingly rare: authenticity.
‘Lainey has what Dolly had early,’ a Nashville manager tells me. ‘Within thirty seconds, you know exactly who she is. The problem is scale.’
Wilson, I’m told, is thought to lack the outsized personality to sit in Parton’s throne.
Reba McEntire (left) is royalty. Shania Twain broke down country’s walls. Carrie Underwood (center) has the voice. Miranda Lambert has credibility.
Rob’s latest exclusives and insider reporting can be found at robshuter.substack.com. His best-selling novel is It Started With A Whisper
‘Ella Langley is having a moment, but moments come and go. I’m not convinced she has the staying power to still matter 30 years from now,’ my Grammy-winning source says.
‘Kacey Musgraves has the talent, the Grammys and the credibility, but she doesn’t have Dolly’s universal connection,’ they added.
‘Kacey is cool and critically adored, but Dolly was never just cool — she was loved. There’s a huge difference. That kind of connection can’t be manufactured, marketed or won at the Grammys.’
Then there is Miley Cyrus.
If Swift is Dolly’s commercial heir, Cyrus may be her emotional one.
Parton was her godmother, and their relationship was real and lasting. Cyrus also has the crossover gene: country, rock, pop and blues all fit her.
‘Miley inherited Dolly’s fearlessness more than anyone,’ a music-industry source tells me. ‘Dolly controlled the joke before anyone could use it against her. Miley learned the same lesson: if people are going to talk, give them something worth talking about.’
Same survival instinct. Different bra.
In the end, however, true Music City insiders say all these divas may be spinning their wheels in the country mud.
‘Everybody keeps asking who the next Dolly is,’ a longtime entertainment executive tells me. ‘There isn’t one. The talent exists. The culture that created her doesn’t.’
‘Ella Langley is having a moment, but moments come and go. I’m not convinced she has the staying power to still matter 30 years from now,’ my Grammy-winning source says
Lainey Wilson may have the most interesting future because she has something increasingly rare: authenticity.
‘Miley inherited Dolly’s fearlessness more than anyone,’ a music-industry source tells me
That is the real story. Broadcasting is dying – not just television or radio, but cultural broadcasting itself. We once watched the same shows, heard the same stations and knew the same stars. Now algorithms determine our viewing habits.
Your TikTok is different from mine. Your Spotify makes different suggestions. Your Netflix home screen looks like we live on different planets.
‘A celebrity can have 20 million followers and still be invisible to half the country,’ a top music booker tells me. ‘We don’t manufacture universal stars anymore because we don’t have a universal culture anymore.’
Swift may be bigger commercially. Cyrus may be more wild. Wilson may become country’s next great star. McEntire may remain its beloved grande dame.
But another Parton?
Honey, good luck.
Leave the crown exactly where she left it: empty, impossible to inherit and encrusted in rhinestones.
Rob Shuter’s latest exclusives and insider reporting can be found at robshuter.substack.com
His best-selling novel is It Started With A Whisper
