Back in January 2024, Elle King took the Grand Ole Opry stage to perform a now-infamous Dolly Parton tribute. She was slated to perform Dolly’s 2001 hit “Marry Me” in celebration of the Queen of Country’s 78th birthday. What followed instead was a profanity-laced, error-riddled performance before King ultimately admitted to being “f—ing hammered.”
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The backlash came, predictably and swiftly, as the “Ex’s and Oh’s” singer temporarily retreated from the public eye. Nearly a year later, King has embraced sobriety, launched a new tour, and released new music. And apparently, she feels far enough removed from the situation to laugh at herself. The Grammy nominee summed up the experience in a new track she recently shared with her followers.
“Oops:” Elle King Shares New Song About Dolly Parton Tribute
These days, Elle King is decompressing in Bali as she awaits the birth of her second child with partner Daniel Tooker. However, it hasn’t been all play and no work for the “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home)” singer. On Christmas Day (Wednesday, Dec. 25), she shared a brand-new song, “Banned From the Grand Ole Opry.”
It’s just King and her guitar (with a picturesque beach in the background) as the CMA Award winner recounts her public shaming from start to finish: Cup or two, three, floor / How many martinis more until curtain call?
She offers further insight into her state of mind that day (Day was bad, chest was tight / Nothing I could say wouldn’t end up wrong.) The final chorus sees her admitting, Well, I ain’t proud, no sir, no way, before wondering “what Johnny Cash would say.”
At least I’m in good company, King sings, since I got banned from the Grand Ole Opry.
[RELATED: Dolly Parton Finally Speaks Out About Elle King’s Fumbled Opry Tribute]
Did She Really Get Banned?
We can’t find any evidence that the Grand Ole Opry has formally banned Elle King from performing. But if they had, the “America’s Sweetheart” singer would be, as she sang, “in good company.” Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, and even Jerry Lee Lewis have found themselves temporarily barred from taking country music’s hallowed stage.
Debuting the song live during a Nov. 22 show at The Fillmore in Detroit, King got vulnerable with the crowd. “You just can’t be so hard on yourself for the rest your life, right?” she said. “You write funny songs and hope that people still come.”
Featured image by Paul Kitagaki Jr/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock
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