A closing song for Parton
Underwood concluded CMA Presents I Will Always Love You: A Celebration of Dolly Parton with the singer's 1973 song "I Will Always Love You." Reba McEntire and Brad Paisley reportedly joined her for the chorus. Alongside the standing ovation reported by People, IBTimes UK described viewers calling Underwood the "perfect person" to close the show.
The special celebrated Parton's life and legacy following her death on August 25, 2026, in Nashville at age 80. Her publicist described her illness as a brief battle with cancer.
Underwood has long expressed admiration for Parton. In remarks reported by Nicki Swift, she said, "If you ask me to talk about one artist that I want to be like, not just in music or voice or not just in any one area, I would choose Dolly Parton."
Parton, in turn, had called Underwood a "dear friend" when introducing her and commended her "compassion, kindness, generosity, and, most of all, the powerful faith that we both share."
Appearance criticism and political objections
For the tribute, Underwood wore a pale pink-and-white strapless ballgown with floral embroidery and sparkling embellishments. Some social media users focused instead on her makeup and bronzed complexion; others challenged her participation in the event.
IBTimes UK reported that one Instagram commenter called her "frightening." Another wrote, "They went through a lot of orange spray paint at this event," while a separate comment read, "The Mar-a-Lago face coming in strong for Carrie Underwood." Other commenters defended the singer, describing the attacks as "cruel" and saying she looked fine and had not substantially changed her appearance.
The political criticism drew on interpretations of Underwood's decision to sing at Trump's 2025 inauguration. She has not directly expressed support for Trump. Explaining why she accepted the invitation, Underwood said she felt honored to "sing at the Inauguration and to be a small part of this historic event."
"I am humbled to answer the call at a time when we must all come together in the spirit of unity and looking to the future," she added.
A red-carpet photo of Underwood with Katy Perry also attracted scrutiny. TV Insider reported that some fans called the pose "forced" and commented on the apparent distance between them. Underwood replaced Perry as an American Idol judge in 2024 after Perry left the show.
Cosmetic claims remain speculative
The "Mar-a-Lago face" label links an appearance to figures in Trump's political orbit. Vanity Fair's description of the associated cosmetic aesthetic included high eyebrows, "cartoonishly inflated lips," skin that looks frozen, and eyes that appear pulled upward and sideways. That description is not evidence that Underwood has had a cosmetic procedure.
Express U.S. reported that some fans thought Underwood had been "MAGA-fied." Speaking to the outlet, Dr. Gizem Seymenoglu described the singer's brows as more "elevated" and raised the possibility of "Botox around the outer eye area."
Seymenoglu also said Underwood's lifted, naturally full appearance "might be more consistent with biostimulatory injectables which work gradually by encouraging the skin to produce more collagen over time." She discussed skin-tightening treatments as another possibility.
Those comments were speculation based on Underwood's appearance, not confirmation that she received treatment. IBTimes UK said it could not independently verify the suggested procedures.
The tribute's performances and legacy projects
The two-hour special aired live on ABC and Disney+ at 9 p.m. Eastern/8 p.m. Central on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, from Belmont University's Fisher Center for the Performing Arts in Nashville. It became available on Hulu the next day.
McEntire opened the event before Lainey Wilson gave the first musical performance, "Night Train to Memphis." Ella Langley sang "Jolene," Little Big Town performed "Light of a Clear Blue Morning," and Zac Brown's rendition of "Butterfly" paired him with Parton's recorded vocals.
The lineup also included Ashley McBryde, Béla Fleck, Paisley, Carly Pearce, Darius Rucker, Kelsea Ballerini, Kristin Chenoweth, Lady A, Lukas Nelson, Molly Tuttle, Ricky Skaggs, Sierra Hull and Vince Gill. Amy Grant, Perry and Kimberly Williams-Paisley made special appearances, and Oprah Winfrey contributed a video message.
The Country Music Association, Belmont University, The Walt Disney Company and the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp announced a joint $1 million donation honoring Parton. The money will go to Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, which provides free books to children.
The Belmont stage also connected the tribute to another Parton project: she had previewed "DOLLY: A True Original Musical" there the previous summer. The musical is scheduled to debut January 19 at New York City's St. James Theatre, on what would have been her 81st birthday.
