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Shania Twain shouts out Dolly Parton as the “trailblazer” who inspired her

By Megan Stone Sep 27, 2021 | 4:00 PM


iStock/5./15 WEST

After being shouted out by Taylor Swift for being the artist to inspire her to cross over from country into pop, Shania Twain spread the love by crediting Dolly Parton for being the singer who first inspired her to experiment with her sound.

The ladies both participated in the latest TikTok trend, which uses Lukas Graham‘s 2014 track “Mama Said” to indicate that a mother-like figure has granted permission, literally or metaphorically, to do a certain thing.

For both Taylor and Shania, they felt their idols gave them permission to break the mold after being told “Country Girls Can’t Go Pop.”

“Thank you @taylorswift,” Shania captioned her take. “I appreciate you! Paying this one forward to another trailblazer.”

The video pays homage to Dolly and even includes throwback footage of the two tearing up the stage together.

Parton famously crossed music genres in 1982 by teaming with Kenny Rogers for his hit “Islands in the Stream.”  She also enjoyed enduring crossover success with “9 to 5” and “Two Doors Down.”

The Grammy winner also penned the track “I Will Always Love You,” which Whitney Houston famously covered in 1992 and made a global hit.

Now, it appears that Dolly herself is primed to jump in on the “Mama Said” trend.  After receiving Shania’s shoutout, Parton created her own TikTok account on Sunday. She’s already posted her first video, which shows her prancing into view in her signature high heels and sharing an encouraging note to her followers by telling them, “I believe in you.”

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