Dolly Parton has remixed ‘9 to 5’ with Pitbull, of all people – and the internet is very divided

Beloved country star Dolly Parton put a new spin on her popular song “9 to 5” last month, collaborating with rapper Pitbull in the process – but not everyone was a fan.

It’s rare for any song featuring the queen of all our gay hearts Dolly Parton to be seen negatively, Sadly, this one might be a rare miss, as some fans think that the track is doing the country star a disservice.

In February, Pitbull released his new album titled Trackhouse (Daytona 500 Edition), a collection of seven new songs, including one featuring Parton.

The track is called Powerful Women, and features the chorus of “9 to 5” in its entirety as well as Parton speaking in the intro, a spoken verse in the middle of the song, and in the outro – where she gives a shout-out to Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin.

Fonda and Tomlin were Parton’s co-stars in the 1980 movie 9 to 5, for which Parton wrote her catchy and insightful song about work and capitalism.

While many might expect the chorus of “9 to 5” on the new track to be a sample from the original, Parton actually recorded the track with Pitbull afresh.

Similar to the original “9 to 5”, the song with Pitbull is about hard-working women who are trying their hardest to survive with “no man at home / raising all the kids alone” but “no matter what”, they “never give up”.

Parton chimes in later with: “Now some of us/Are pit bulls too/We appreciate/The things you do/Thanks again for shining light/On the women that work/From nine to five.”

However, quite a lot of people haven’t warmed to the collaboration, while others have just found it a bit odd.

One person tweeted, “I did not have Pitbull and Dolly Parton releasing a song together on my 2024 Women’s History Month bingo card.” Another added, “Apparently, Dolly Parton and Pitbull have collaborated to create a song where Dolly raps a verse from 9-5. The Internet needs to be discussing this more.” Another fan mournfully tweeted, “I wish the Pitbull Dolly Parton song was good :(“

Others were disappointed in the “9 to 5” collab due to controversies surrounding Pitbull in the past.

Pitbull has been criticised for the way his music depicts women, with some people even suggesting his lyrics contribute to the legitimisation of rape. Song lyrics such as “She say she won’t, but I bet she will,” and “I like that when you fight back” have attracted particularly negative comments. Many others just view him as sexist.

The new remix was created in promotion of the Daytona 500, an annual NASCAR motor race held at the Daytona International Speedway in Florida.

Trackhouse (Daytona 500 Edition) also features music from country artists like Tim McGraw, Nile Rodgers, and Vikina.

Powerful Women has reached number four on the Billboard Rap Digital Song Sales chart just 12 days after its release, marking Parton’s debut on Billboard’s rap or hip-hop charts.