Dolly Parton Will Host ‘Pet Gala’ on CBS

Dolly Parton is back to work again, and this time, she is joining some real dogs to celebrate along with some of her music and celebrity friends.

Dolly has announced Dolly Parton's Pet Gala, a two-hour variety special featuring exclusive performances by some of country music's biggest names, like Lainey Wilson, Carly Pearce, and Chris Janson.

The country icon said in a statement about the show, "I have hosted or co-hosted many shows throughout my career, but I have never been more excited about co-hosting a show than I am about being part of this pet gala! I love animals. I've got all kinds, and of course, I've always had little dogs around and big ones!"

She added, "We're going to have some of all kinds and colors on the show, and there is nothing more fun to me than when little animals do what they do best, and I'm looking forward to it! There is so much fun stuff, and I know all the animal lovers out there are going to love this show."

Parton will also reveal a one-of-a-kind runway revealing the best in doggy fashion, featuring her most iconic looks as well as embellished looks from Dolly's Doggy Parton pet line. The show will air on CBS on February 21 and stream on Paramount+.

Dolly will be joined on the pink carpet by co-host Jane Lynch, with runway correspondents Kelly Osbourne and Rachel Smith. The special event will feature performances of Parton classics, including "9 to 5," "I Will Always Love You," "Puppy Love," and "Jolene," with Parton and Lainey Wilson, Carly Pearce, Chris Janson, and KC of KC and Sunshine Band performing. More guests will be announced at a later date.

The show will feature special guests appearing alongside beloved pets, including Young Sheldon's Iain Armitage, Drew Barrymore, Kristen Bell, Kristin Chenoweth, Margaret Cho, Neil Patrick Harris, Carson Kressley, Jim Nantz, and Jessica Simpson, among others.

The 96th Academy Awards, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, will air on ABC on Sunday, March 10, live from the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood. It will be the fourth time that Kimmel has hosted the awards show. Unfortunately, country music does not have a presence in this year's nominees. However, in years past, several country music classics have been nominated in the Best Original Song category.

While a country song has never won an Oscar for Best Original Song, our genre did have some nominees through the years, and one country icon has been nominated for Best Original Song twice in her storied career.

No country singer has even been nominated for an Academy Award for acting. Many country singers today are involved in acting, including Reba McEntire, Lainey Wilson, Tim McGraw, Trace Adkins, and Randy Houser, to name a few. When Billy Bob Thornton joined the cast of Tim McGraw and Faith Hill's 2021 series, 1883, it was a reunion for Tim and Billy Bob. The two worked together on the 2004 movie Friday Night Lights.

Tim said of Billy Bob's appearance in 1883 as Jim Courtright, "Billy Bob was so fantastic." McGraw credits Billy Bob with giving him some of the best acting advice he's ever received. He said, "He was like the angel on my shoulder. The best advice he ever gave me is, if you think you're not doing enough, you're probably still doing too much."

Actress Sissy Spacek won an Oscar for her portrayal of Loretta Lynn in Coal Miner's Daughter in 1980. Also, Jessica Lange was nominated for an Oscar for her portrayal of Patsy Cline in 1985, although she did not win.

And let's not forget Reese Witherspoon, a Nashville native and country music lover, won an Oscar for her portrayal of June Carter Cash from the Johnny Cash bio epic I Walked The Line in 2005. Joaquin Phoenix was nominated for an Oscar for portraying Johnny Cash in I Walk the Line the same year. Phoenix attended Cash's funeral in Tennessee in 2003. Cash hand-picked Phoenix for the role after seeing his performance in Gladiator in 2000.

Let's look at the Top five country songs nominated for an Academy Award over the years.

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Reba's performance of this song at the 2022 Academy Awards was a highlight of the show. However, "No Time to Die" from the James Bond movie of the same name won, and the award went to Billie Eilish & Finneas O'Connell. Reba also performed at the Oscars in 1991. She performed "I'm Checkin' Out" from Postcards From the Edge.

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This was Dolly's second Oscar nomination in the Best Original Song category. The 2006 Oscar went to the movie Hustle & Flow's song "It's Hard out Here for a Pimp" by Three 6 Mafia. In 1981, Parton was nominated but did not win the award for Best Original Song for "9 to 5" from the movie of the same name.

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Trisha performed at the Oscars and was introduced by Madonna. The Oscar for Best Original Song that year went to the movie Titanic's "My Heart Will Go On," sung by Celine Dion. Yearwood sang the movie's song on the official soundtrack. However, that same year, LeAnn Rimes released her own version of "How Do I Live."

Photo by Diane Freed

Willie's first Oscar nomination, the Oscar for Best Original Song, went to "Fame" from the movie of the same name won. Irene Cara sang it. Nelson also acted in Honeysuckle Rose, playing a fictional country singer named Buck Bonham. Other actors in the film included Amy Irving and Dyan Cannon.

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Dolly's first performance at the Academy Awards and even though it was one of the most popular songs of all-time. Perhaps Willie and Dolly split the vote from the country music fans in the Academy. Dolly played Doralee Rhodes in her first acting movie role in 9 to 5. When she came to the set the first day, unlike the other actors in the film, she had memorized the entire script and all of the actor's parts to make sure she knew it well.