Dolly Parton on Why She Repeatedly Said No to Performing at Super Bowl Halftime Shows

Looking through the history of Super Bowl Halftime shows, one artist that has never graced the stage is Dolly Parton — and the country icon finally reveals why. 

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter Parton shares that she has been asked to perform for the Super Bowl Halftime show several times, and has said no each time. "I couldn’t do it because of other things, or I just didn’t think I was big enough to do it — to do that big of a production," she revealed."

"When you think about those shows, those are big, big productions. I’ve never done anything with that big of a production," she said. "I don’t know if I could have. I think at the time that’s what I was thinking."

However, with her first rock album Rockstar — releasing on Nov. 17 — Parton shares she may now consider the massive performance.

“It would make more sense. That might change. I might be able to do a production show," she said.

The Super Bowl Halftime show isn't the only thing Parton turned down. In the interview, she disclosed she initially turned down the offer to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame because she didn't think she was the right fit as a country artist.

“They’re going to put me in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and somebody like Meat Loaf or some of these other great artists never even made it? I didn’t want to take away from somebody that has spent their life in that world like I had spent mine in country [music],” she said.

It was after she learned more about who was inducted that she eventually accepted.

"They told me all the ways that people’s music has influenced other people around the world … and told me about other people that were in it besides rock. Then I accepted it," she shared.

While we may or may not ever see Parton hit the Super Bowl Halftime stage, fans can still get excited for the latest headliner, Usher, to perform in 2024.

He already has given small clues as to what to expect, though he didn't reveal too much.

"You’re going to get hit records... I do want to play the songs that people obviously recognize and the ones that I celebrate, I’ve been able to laugh, I have been able to cry, I have been vulnerable, I’ve been telling and honest," he said in an interview with Extra TV. "I found really great ways to help us communicate better through my music and that celebration is inside this curation."

He also hints that he may be joined by a special guest: "I’ve also collaborated with a lot of people in the process, so… there’s a celebration there."

From Beyoncé to Alicia Keys to his protégé Justin Bieber, the options of what guest artist will join Usher are endless.