"Wrecking Ball" is one of Miley Cyrus' biggest hits, and likely the toughest to perform.
The singer has broken down in the past while performing the song, which has become intertwined with the end of her and Liam Hemsworth's decade-long relationship.
But Cyrus found the strength to sing it with her godmother Dolly Parton, who told Insider it was "an emotional time."
Parton and Cyrus joined forces to host "Miley's New Year's Eve Party," and helped usher in 2023 with a number of duets. The country-music icon told Insider it was Cyrus' idea to perform a medley of "Wrecking Ball" and "I Will Always Love You," two of their most famous tunes.
"Even when we were rehearsing, Miley was crying," Parton recalled.
The medley began with "Wrecking Ball," and Parton clutched Cyrus' hand throughout the performance as they sang separate verses before joining forces for the chorus.
Parton said their performance together "seemed to just soar."
"The fact that we were singing so well together stirred up our emotions very much," she said. "Then we went into 'I Will Always Love You' and she would just have these tears coming down and it was so emotional."
"I think that's one of the reasons why the song sounded so good," Parton added. "We both put our heart and soul into it, and both felt what we were singing — and singing about."
"Wrecking Ball" was released as a single in August 2013, a month before Cyrus and Hemsworth broke off their engagement. The song, which is about the end of a relationship, is now frequently associated with the pair's tumultuous romance — which ended in divorce in August 2019.
When Cyrus broke down while performing "Wrecking Ball" at a 2021 Super Bowl pregame show, she told the audience that the tune is about "feeling completely broken and shattered."
"I wear a lot of glitter and I wear a lot of armor and I also wear my heart on my sleeve, and it gets broken a lot," she added.
But Parton and Cyrus are closer than ever, and Parton revealed to Insider that she'd love for her goddaughter to play her in a biopic one day.
"I think Miley would be great," Parton said. "She's tall, but you can't really tell that in a movie."
"And she'd have to put on some weight, and get some bigger boobs," Parton added with a laugh.
But Parton does draw the line when it comes to food, revealing that she won't eat anything Cyrus cooks because "it would have no taste."
"Even if she cooked me something, I'm sure I'd have to doctor it up a little for myself," Parton said. "I would have to have some bacon grease."
Parton previously told Insider that she used to love making classic Southern foods for Cyrus, including meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and a "big ol' hunk of corn bread."
"Miley's trying to watch what she eats now — she's gone through a lot of phases of being vegetarian or being vegan or whatever," Parton said. "But in the earlier days, or when her defenses are down, we still eat that good ol' food like meatloaf."
