Dolly Parton reveals she’s turned down Super Bowl Halftime Show “many times”

Dolly Parton has revealed that she has turned down offers to play the Super Bowl Halftime Show “many times”.

• READ MORE: The biggest moments from Rihanna’s Super Bowl Halftime Show

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the singer claims that despite it being one of the highest-profile live music opportunities of the year, she did not feel able to accept.

“Oh, sure. I’ve been offered that many times,” Parton said. “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. When you think about those shows, those are big, big productions. I’ve never done anything with that big of a production. I don’t know if I could have. I think at the time that’s what I was thinking.”

Her new album ‘Rockstar’ comes out on November 17, and with her deciding to embrace rock music with a series of covers, including The Rolling Stones’ (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’ and Prince’s ‘Purple Rain’, it seems her mind may be changing about whether to accept such offers going forward.

“That might change,” she said. “I might be able to do a production show now.”

She may not have played the Halftime Show itself, but Parton has played a role in Super Bowl half times in the past. In 2021, she reworked ‘9 to 5’ into a new version, titled ‘5 to 9’, for a Squarespace advert that played during the prestigious event.

The singer is set to premiere tracks from ‘Rockstar’ in cinemas worldwide on November 15, screening a “first-listen fan event” on big screens. It will include an exclusive interview, behind-the-scenes footage and special live performances.

Parton recently teamed up with her goddaughter Miley Cyrus to release a new version of ‘Wrecking Ball’ from the album.

Prior to ‘Rockstar’, Dolly Parton’s last album was 2022’s ‘Run, Rose, Run’. That record scored a three-star review from Nick Levine for NME. Levine wrote: “If Parton is very much in her comfort zone here, that’s really part of the fun. It all adds up to a thoroughly enjoyable listen that confirms what fans already know: even a middle-of-the-road Dolly Parton album has lashings of charm.”

This year’s Super Bowl Halftime Show was performed by Rihanna, and in May it officially became the most-watched halftime show of all time, with over 120 million views, overtaking Katy Perry’s 2015 performance.

Usher is set to play the 2024 Super Bowl Halftime Show.