Katy Perry and Dolly Parton are joining forces to presumably slay a duet at the 51st annual Academy of Country Music Awards next month, marking their first live performance together. The news came by way of the iconic country singer, who announced it via her Twitter page. She’s set to receive the Tex Ritter award for her television movie Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors, she explained, and Perry will likely present the award. Then the two will tackle a never-before-heard mashup of Parton’s “Jolene” and “Coat of Many Colors.” And while these two may seem wildly different on the surface, they’ve actually got a good bit in common. Check out these surprising similarities.
They both got their start at an early age
Perry and Parton both appear to be the types who’ve been singing for almost as long as anyone can remember. Perry began formal training for her voice at age 9 and was soon after incorporated into her parents’ ministry. She continued to sing in the church until the age of 17. Parton also began by performing in the church — she was 6 at the time. Not long after, she began performing on local radio and TV shows in the Eastern Tennessee area she called home. By 13, she was recording a few singles and even met Johnny Cash at the Grand Ole Opry.
They’ve both been branded ‘bubblegum pop’
I’m sure you’re probably thinking “Obviously!” in regard to Perry. Most people know her rise to musical prominence came by way of the 2008 megahit “I Kissed a Girl.” But did you know that a 19-year-old Parton was first pitched to the music industry as a bubblegum pop singer, too? She actually had to push back against record execs a lot in her early career to be allowed to segue into country. She never completely gave up pop, though, branching back into the genre with chart-toppers like “Here You Come Again” and “Two Doors Down.”
They’re boss babes
Perry doesn’t just do music. She is also a very successful businesswoman with a string of popular perfumes and many endorsement deals under her belt. Similarly, Parton has found continued success at the helm of Dollywood, a theme park she founded in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, in 1986 (so much fun — you should definitely go). And in 2015, she announced she would be producing movies-of-the-week in development with NBC by way of her new production company Dixie Pixie Productions.
They both have rags-to-riches stories
Perry has been forthcoming about the fact her family struggled financially, revealing that they sometimes relied on food stamps or the food bank at the church to nourish their family. For her part, Parton has often described her family as being “dirt poor.” She was the fourth of 12 kids, all raised in a one-room cabin in rural Tennessee. One of her memorable anecdotes is the story of how her father paid the doctor who delivered her with a bag of oatmeal.
The ‘American Idol’ connection
In 2008, American Idol dubbed one of its weekly themes Dolly Parton Songs, with the idea that each of the remaining contestants at the time would sing one of Parton’s compositions. In conjunction with the theme, Parton (adorably) participated as a guest mentor and even performed her single “Jesus & Gravity” to a standing ovation. Perry is no stranger to the Idol stage either — in addition to performing on the show, she served as a guest judge in 2009 and was on the short list of possible replacements for longtime judge Paula Abdul.
Nashville was their gateway to success
It likely doesn’t surprise you much that Parton moved to Nashville in 1964, the day after she graduated from high school. There, the 18-year-old experienced her first commercial successes, which happened to be for songwriting. What is probably more surprising is that Nashville opened doors for pop singer Perry, too. After dropping out of high school at 15 and getting her GED, Perry caught the ears of rock musicians Steve Thomas and Jennifer Knapp. The pair took Perry to Nashville with them to work on her writing skills, and it wasn’t long after that she signed her first record deal.
They moonlight as actors
In February 2011, Perry got the cameo ball rolling when she played a woman known as Honey on an episode of the sitcom How I Met Your Mother. She has since added several more acting credits to her name, including Raising Hope and Zoolander 2. Parton’s impressive film career dates back to 1980, when she played Doralee Rhodes alongside Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda in Nine to Five. Other classic roles include Mona in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and Truvy in Steel Magnolias.
They’ve also been given the cartoon treatment
Parton has been animated more than once — as Murph in The Magic School Bus and, my favorite, as Dolly Gnome in Gnomeo & Juliet. Perry made her animation debut in the 2011 live-action animation film The Smurfs. She played Smurfette, a role she reprised in the sequel.
They’re tireless advocates for kids
After joining UNICEF in 2013 to help kids in Madagascar, Perry signed on as an official UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador “with a special focus on engaging young people in the agency’s work to improve the lives of the world’s most vulnerable children and adolescents.” She has also been very involved with the Boys Hope Girls Hope Foundation and has donated portions of music sales to children’s charities focusing on music and education. Perhaps Parton’s most notable contribution to children’s charities are her efforts involving childhood literacy. You’ve heard of her Imagination Library, right? The program mails one book per month to each child enrolled in the program from the time of their birth until they enter kindergarten. The innovative initiative mails out more than 10 million free books to kids every year.
They’re on the same page about ‘Playboy’
Well, figuratively speaking. Despite both women being courted heavily by the popular men’s magazine, neither Perry nor Parton have posed for the publication sans clothing. Parton did appear on the 1978 issue cover donning a Playboy Bunny outfit, but she did not appear nude anywhere in or on the mag. Likewise, Perry has said that although she likes to play the sexy card, she “won’t be doing a Playboy spread.”
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