Dolly Parton recently released a mash-up cover of “We Are The Champions/We Will Rock You” for her impending album, Rockstar. Accompanying the release is a music video in collaboration with NBC Universal for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Videos by American Songwriter
NBCU’s coverage of the world-renowned sporting event will begin one year from today (July 26). In celebration of the one-year mark, Parton has created a music video that is sure to inspire hype for the latest Olympic Games.
“I love the Olympics,” Parton said in a release. “I do my best to plan my schedule to watch as much of it as I possibly can. I tape it just in case I miss the live action on a certain day and watch it back as soon as possible. I laugh, I cry, I scream, there are no losers in the Olympics as they have all spent a lifetime preparing but I celebrate with the ones that go away with the gold, silver, and bronze medals.”
“Dolly Parton is an American icon whose popularity and recognition across generations is unmatched,” Jenny Storms, CMO, Entertainment, and Sports, NBCUniversal added. “She is also a close member of the NBCUniversal family, an Olympic super-fan, and has a new version of two of the greatest sports anthems of all time. So, she was the perfect choice to get America excited about Team USA and next summer’s Paris Olympics.”
The two rock classics that Parton chose to cover are staples at sporting events. Parton and NBC decided to play off of that connection in their collaborative video.
At the beginning of the video, Parton sits in an empty stadium while the iconic beat to “We Will Rock You” plays overtop. She then takes on vocal duties singing the opening line to “We Are the Champions”: I’ve paid my dues / Time after time / I’ve done my sentence / But committed no crime.
Soon after, footage of past Olympic Games is interspersed between shots of Parton singing to the camera. Olympians and teams featured in the video include Simone Biles, Suni Lee, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Noah Lyles, Katie Ledecky, the women’s soccer team, men’s and women’s basketball teams, and a host of international athletes.
Check it out below.
(Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images for ABA)
