Dolly Parton Says New 'Jolene' Rendition 'Son of Jolene' Is 'Clever.' Belles Agrees: 'I Can Die Happy Now' (Exclusive)

Chris BarillaWed, February 25, 2026 at 4:00 PM UTC

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Belles (left) and Dolly PartonCredit: Courtesy of ashtronot -

Belles and Dolly Parton have teamed up for a new rendition of the latter's hit track, "Jolene," titled "Son of Jolene"

"When I wrote this song, I would've never in a million years thought that it would've gone all the way to Dolly, and now I'm here, but I really couldn't be more grateful," Belles reflects to PEOPLE

Parton shares with PEOPLE, "When I heard 'Son of Jolene,' I thought it was very clever. No one had ever thought of it that way"

The story of "Jolene" has a new chapter, thanks to Belles and Dolly Parton.

Belles is quick to share with PEOPLE that "in my wildest dreams," she could only imagine Parton hearing, let alone singing on, her rousing rendition of the timeless classic, titled "Son of Jolene." Which is exactly why she she immediately felt like "I could die happy now" when she got the call that Parton wanted in on the final recording.

"When I wrote this song, I would've never in a million years thought that it would've gone all the way to Dolly, and now I'm here, but I really couldn't be more grateful," the artist, 26, continues.

Parton, for her part, sees something truly special in Belles' unique perspective on "Jolene."

The country music legend, 80, tells PEOPLE, “When I heard 'Son of Jolene,' I thought it was very clever. No one had ever thought of it that way."

'Son of Jolene' cover artCredit: Courtesy of ashtronot

Rewinding to the catalyst of the collaboration, Belles recalls, "It was kind of just random. I was on my headlining tour last year and my opening act, he's a great country artist, but his mom came out to a show one night and her name was Jolene. And then, I don't know what came over me, but I was in the van the next day driving to the next show, and I just turned to him and I was like, ‘You should write a song about being the son of Jolene. That would be a really interesting take. Maybe you have a messed-up love life because your mom's name is Jolene, or just an angle like that.’ And he was like, ‘I don't really know if that feels like me or something I would write about.’ And I was like, ‘That's totally fair, but I might write that song.’ And he was like, ‘Well, go for it.’ ”

After that fateful moment, Belles put pen to paper, interpolating the original song's iconic chorus and interjecting her own tragically beautiful narrative of a young girl meeting and falling in love with the son of Jolene, a man equally as charming and as much of a troublemaker as his mother.

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“Of course, when you're talking about Dolly Parton and 'Jolene,' it's one of the most legendary songs of all time. So my No. 1 priority was making sure that it was even okay to do something with this topic, and make sure that everything was done the right way," Belles, full name Kelli Rachel Belles, explains. As a result, she wanted to make sure that the Queen of Country Music had a heads up that it was happening.

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“It was actually my publisher, Stephanie Green, who got the song to Kent Wells, who's Dolly's producer. And he really loved it and was like, ‘Hey, I'm going to play this for Dolly, because I think she would really love it,' " she continues.

In her ever-gracious fashion, Parton's response was nothing but one of respect and admiration for Belles' work. “She did in fact love it and she wanted to sing on it, and that was such a surreal moment," the latter shares.

As it is realized, "Son of Jolene" sees Belles and Parton's powerhouse vocals layer over as well as call and respond to one another, the equivalent of a musical and generational bridge being built between the two artists, their unique careers and complimentary sounds.

"What a twist, and I'm proud to now be a small part of this version," the "Jolene" creator tells PEOPLE of working with the up-and-coming artist on the track.

A similar sentiment exudes from Belles, one clearly rooted in a deep-seeded respect for Parton and her contributions to country music as a whole. "It's just been honestly such an honor to get to do this with her," she shares, adding, "I'm very honored that she really loved the songwriting. I think that was the highest compliment that she gave me when I [first] got to meet her, was that she loved the songwriting and thought it was a very clever song."

In totality, Belles says her character-driven, emotionally resonant collaboration with Parton delivers "that old-school, raw, real, three chords and the truth" country music.

“I do have an album coming out this year that I've been working really, really hard on that is very traditional in a lot of ways, and it's also very modern. It's like very traditional production with very modern lyrics. It's an interesting thing, and I honestly can't think of a better way to kick it off than starting with a song with Dolly," she continues.

Doubling down on that sentiment, Belles adds, “That is honestly the goal of my entire music at this point, is like I grew up loving Loretta Lynn. I listened to the Trio albums with Dolly, Emmylou and Linda so many times driving around Nashville. With my songwriting and with the production of the songs and just this whole project, I want to bring that brand of country storytelling ... into 2026."

"Son of Jolene" is available for pre-save on all major streaming services now.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”