Country music star Blake Shelton has paid tribute to Dolly Parton following her death, describing her as exactly the warm and genuine person fans believed her to be. His Instagram post, illustrated with a photo of the pair from their time together on The Voice, forms part of a wider outpouring of grief from musicians including Reba McEntire and Kacey Musgraves.

Shelton explained that his main personal contact with Parton came when she guest-mentored on The Voice in 2015 and 2016, alongside his then-partner Gwen Stefani. He wrote that Parton felt "like being with the funnest, most loving, most caring and closest member of your family" and called her death "a loss for the entire world." Parton, who famously avoided formal judging roles on talent shows because she found it too hard to critique sincere performers, died on 25 August 2026 in Nashville, Tennessee, aged 80; no cause of death has been given.