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Dolly Parton Is Releasing Her First Christmas Album In 30 Years

by Cassandra Stone
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Dolly Parton Is Releasing Her First Christmas Album In 30 Years
Dolly Parton/Instagram

Dolly’s album will be titled — what else? — ‘A Holly Dolly Christmas’ because sometimes we can have nice things

This year, absolutely no one is allowed to get Grinchy about people playing Christmas music “too early” because one, there is no such thing, and two, just take a look at the state of literally everything, okay? And no one knows the power of holiday music like Miss Dolly Parton, meme queen and literacy legend herself, because she is blessing us all with her first Christmas album in 30 years this October. The timing couldn’t be better, TBH.

The album, titled “A Holly Dolly Christmas” (would expect nothing less from our Unproblematic Country Queen) will be released on October 2, Billboard reported Wednesday. Parton said she wanted the album name to be “cute and clever” and was obviously inspired by Ye Olde Christmas King Burl Ives.

“He used to be on all of my Christmas specials all through the years,” Dolly said. “I think of him as Mr. Christmas. I thought, ‘Why don’t do I call it something cute and clever, like that or Deck the Halls with Boughs of Dolly, something corny like that.’ ”

WE. ARE. HERE. FOR. CORNY. We are all in such desperate need of a little joyful cheesiness, and since the holidays this year are going to be… different (trying desperately to not give anyone anymore dread than they can handle), Dolly is giving us the delightful holiday ditties we deserve.

And because she didn’t get to be 74 and successful beyond measure by not knowing how to put out an album, Dolly will be dueting with a few famous singers. PEOPLE reports that she worked with Michael Bublé for the first single, “Cuddle Up, Cozy Down Christmas.” Jimmy Fallon is joining her for a new rendition of Mariah Carey’s famous hit “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” Legendary stuff, honestly.

“I thought, ‘What other songs are really hot?’” she said. “And I thought, ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You.’ Jimmy Fallon, a couple of years ago, I was on his show around Christmas and he asked me to sing that and I didn’t know it and I felt so bad,” Parton explained. “So I went and learned it and I was just going to put it on my album and then I went, ‘I’ll ask Jimmy Fallon to sing it with me!’ And he said, yes. So I’m really excited about that.”

YOU ARE FORGIVEN FOR NOT ALREADY KNOWING IT BY HEART, DOLLY. YOU. ARE. FORGIVEN.

Willie Nelson, Billy Ray Cyrus, and Miley Cyrus (who calls Dolly “godmother,” lucky duck) will also appear for duets on the new album, which was recorded by each artist separately due to COVID-19.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_kobeWFew-/

“We’ve been very smart, very careful, because we’re trying to protect ourselves and I’m an older person,” she said. Listen, if protecting Dolly Parton at all costs isn’t reason enough to continue to remain diligent and socially distant, what is???

BRB, counting down the days until October to get jolly and blast Dolly from every speaker in the house.

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