Grammys rally stars to salute the wonder of Dolly

DOLLY Parton has been a country music sensation for more than 50 years and has won just about every award possible. And now the Grammy Awards are to celebrate her genius with an all-star tribute in Los Angeles on Sunday.

The 73-year-old music legend will be feted with a performance of some of her greatest hits by Katy Perry, Kacey Mugraves, Maren Morris and Little Big Town.

The singer and actress has already won nine Grammy awards during her illustrious career. MusiCares, a charity run by the Grammys’ parent organisation the Recording Academy, previously announced Dolly would receive its Person Of The Year award. It will be honouring her not only for her musical successes, but also for the charitable work of her Dollywood Foundation, which provides school scholarships and supports literacy efforts.

In addition to the tribute, Dolly will perform some of her original music from the Netflix film Dumplin’, about a young girl inspired by her music, in her first Grammy performance in 18 years.

Although their styles may seem wildly disparate, Katy’s pop music and Kacey’s popinflected country both represent different aspects of Dolly’s musical persona. Many of her biggest hits leaned more towards pop than country, and she experimented with blending her music with pop and rock.

In the competitive categories at the 61st awards, Kendrick Lamar leads the nominations with a total of eight, including his Black Panther soundtrack for Album Of The Year.

Meanwhile, Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga will compete for record and song of the year for Shallow, their hit from A Star Is Born.