Harry Styles Pays Tribute to Dolly Parton Using a Song Most Associated With Whitney Houston

The "Watermelon Sugar" singer used his concert date on Wednesday to honor the most influential artist in country music, but he definitely didn't do it with "Jolene."

Harry Styles took a moment during his concert at Madison Square Garden on August 26, 2026, to talk about what Dolly Parton meant to him, and then he played one of her songs, which is a global hit that most people think belonged to Whitney Houston.

During this New York stop of his Together, Together tour, Styles told the crowd, "I wanna say a proper 'Thank you' to all the musicians over the years that've inspired me. Dolly, we love you, thank you so much."

And soon after, the song "I Will Always Love You" began to play. He didn't perform it. Instead, Parton's own voice was heard through the arena, and the 32-year-old singer asked the audience to sing along.

It was a moving moment, and one of many tributes for Parton that several artists have done since the country singer's death on August 25. But you might be wondering why he chose that song, instead of "Jolene" or "9 to 5," which are the most commonly associated with her.

You might even believe that song was Houston's, but that's not the case. Parton originally wrote "I Will Always Love You" in 1973, and released it the following year. But it wouldn't become a global hit until "The Bodyguard."

Dolly Parton continued, "People say, well, she claims it is her record. I said, it is her record. It is my song. But it is most definitely her record. It didn't sound like that when I had it. She made me rich."