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Miley Cyrus officially has a song “for Aunt Dolly.”
Dolly Parton shared a clip of her goddaughter, superstar pop singer-songwriter Cyrus, sharing the story behind her latest ballad, “More to Lose.” Cyrus released it on Friday (May 9), and told the story behind it on Instagram. Parton shared the video on her Instagram story on Wednesday (May 14).
“I went to see Dolly during Christmas, and I played her ‘Something Beautiful,’” Cyrus said. “I was excited because she just came off her rock album [Rockstar, after her induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame], so I thought she was really gonna get it. So I played ‘Something Beautiful,’ (and) she goes, ‘alright, I see what you’re doing here. You got any hits?’ I was pretty sure I didn’t at that time. So, I was like, ‘yeah, I do. it’s called ‘More to Lose,’’ but I hadn’t written it yet. So, I flew back to L.A., and — that was at Christmastime — (on) January 2, I got in the studio and went and wrote this song.
“I’ve always thought of this song as my ‘I Will Always Love You,’” she said. “So this is my song for Aunt Dolly.”
The beloved “I Will Always Love You” legend is Cyrus’ godmother, and last year, Ancestry data revealed the two artists are actually seventh cousins, once removed. Parton and Cyrus share common ancestor John Brickey, who is Parton’s 6th great-grandfather and Cyrus’ 7th great-grandfather. Parton said of the Ancestry data in an interview with Access Hollywood: “Is that true? That’s amazing. Well we’re so close, Miley and I, I would’ve thought we would’ve been at least, you know, third cousins, 10 times removed. And I’m sure she’ll get a kick out of that. But it doesn’t surprise me because she does feel like family.”
Cyrus will release her highly-anticipated ninth studio record, Something Beautiful, on May 30. So far, Cyrus has released “Prelude,” the title track, “End of the World” and “More to Lose” from the 13-track record. Listen to “More to Lose” here: