Dolly Parton delivered the hits — and a couple of thrilling surprises — during her halftime show performance at the Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 23) football game between the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Commanders.
It seems that Parton may have been rooting for the home team: She took the stage at Arlington, Texas’ AT&T Stadium dressed in a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader uniform. “Y’all like my outfit?” she asked the crowd as she first took the stage, before encouraging the Cowboys and the Commanders to “stop fighting long enough to say hello to me.“
From there, Parton launched into a one-two punch of a pair of her greatest hits, performing “Jolene” followed by “9 to 5.” Before the latter performance, a phalanx of actual Cowboys cheerleaders paraded out onto the field, organizing into formation and dancing along to “9 to 5” as spotlights dazzled in the background. Get an up-close peek at Parton’s outfit below, or watch her full performance now.
The country great concluded her halftime show with a powerful rendition of Queen’s “We Are the Champions” mashed up with “We Will Rock You.” Parton blends those two classic Queen songs on one track of her recently released rock album, Rockstar.
Before her Thanksgiving Day performance, Parton told Inside Edition that she was excited to bring NFL fans a couple of her biggest hits, plus a taste of Rockstar, during her halftime show performance. She also expressed her enthusiasm for being a part of the Salvation Army’s annual Red Kettle Campaign, which officially launched on Thanksgiving Day.
“I’m just proud to be part of anything that’s gonna be helpful to the masses of people out there that are not as lucky as we are,” Parton said.
The Cowboys came out ahead during the big Thanksgiving Day game, beating the Commanders 45-10.
Parton’s latest halftime gig was the second time in recent days that the country singer has performed during a football game: Last weekend, she sang “Rocky Top” for the Tennessee Volunteers’ SEC match-up against the Georgia Bulldogs.