Miley Cyrus reveals her last conversation with Dolly Parton before her death

Miley Cyrus has opened up about her final conversation with her godmother Dolly Parton, revealing that their last exchange came as she was preparing to send Parton an advance copy of her new album, Bass Persuades.

Speaking to Zane Lowe for Apple Music, Cyrus said Parton had long been the first person she would send a vinyl of her newest record to, a tradition she intended to continue with her latest album.

Cyrus said their final conversation centred on her new music, as well as the similarities and differences between the two of them as performers.

“Even though we are so different, that’s what made us so perfect for each other,” Cyrus said.

How Dolly Parton’s persona helped Miley

Miley said she has long wrestled with the gap between her public presentation and her private self, adding: “Sometimes I call what I do drag because the way that I present myself is just someone that is so different from the person that feeds the tortoise every morning.”

Cyrus reflected on the contrast between Parton’s famously elaborate public image and the person she knew privately, describing her godmother as someone associated with “the fake, the hair, the makeup, and the show of it” while also being deeply “real” and “authentic”.

For Cyrus, that distinction became an important lesson in how a performer can create a persona without losing sight of who they are underneath it.

The singer said she experienced something similar during her years as Hannah Montana, when much of her life revolved around performing a carefully constructed character.

“I think a way that I could look at that as you can have a persona and still be who you are is because I had Dolly,” she explained.

Dolly Parton died on 25 August aged 80, with Miley previously speaking about navigating a period of change following the loss of her godmother.

Dolly Parton’s advice: ‘Let them cry’

One of the final topics they discussed was Cyrus’ tendency to cry while performing.

Cyrus said she often becomes emotional when singing “End of the World”, particularly because of the song’s themes of losing loved ones.

Parton had previously watched Cyrus perform the song at The Chateau Marmont, filmed by The Late Show with David Letterman crew and questioned why she was crying.

According to Cyrus, Parton’s perspective was simple: music should provide an escape for the audience.

“She was like, ‘Music is escapism. Let them cry. You need to get through it,’” Cyrus recalled.

Cyrus told Lowe that she understood what Parton was saying but ultimately knew that her emotional response was simply part of who she was.

“And I was like, ‘I know, but this is who I am.’ And she loved me for it,” Cyrus said.

The conversation has taken on additional significance for Cyrus because of how aware she has become of losing the older artists and mentors who helped shape her career.

She said many of the people who have provided stability throughout her life come from generations before her — people who “laid down, brick by brick, the road that I travel now”.

“They aren’t always going to be here for me to call them and say, ‘What do I do now?’ which I always did with Dolly,” Cyrus said.

And, she added, Parton was “always right”.

Cyrus compared the experience to growing older and realising that advice from a parent you once questioned suddenly makes much more sense.

“It’s like how your mom’s like always right,” she said. “And when you’re a kid, you’re like, what does she know? And then as you get older, you’re like, ‘How? Where did this come from? You’re just a normal person. Why do you know everything?’”

“Dolly was just always right about stuff.”