Dec. 28:
'Rockstar' Sales, Chart Updates
Dolly's Rockstar should be inching closer to a gold album. Its chart performance announced Wednesday indicates it sold between 18,000 and 20,000 more units in its fifth week of release, bringing its U.S. total to about 220,000 copies, but since the RIAA credits double-CDs as two units toward gold and platinum awards, and four-LP sets as four units, it should have exceeded about 465,000 units sold toward the 500,000-unit gold minimum. On the Dec. 30 Billboard charts, the rock album holds steady at No. 62 on the Top 200 and remains among the nation's 10 best-selling albums of the week, inching up one to No. 9 Top Album Sales and gaining one to No. 8 Current Album Sales. The set holds steady at No. 14 country albums, No. 7 independent label albums, and No. 8 rock albums, losing one to No. 12 rock and alternative albums. Dolly loses seven spots to No. 47 on the Artist 100. Elsewhere on the charts, A Holly, Dolly Christmas Ultimate Deluxe Edition slides two to No. 50 on the Top Country Albums chart. Down Under, Rockstar dips seven places to No. 32 country albums in its fifth week in Australia, where Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection rises two to No. 13 and Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 re-enters the top 50 at No. 35. Across the pond, the project loses 14 spots to No. 51 sales, two to No. 78 downloads chart, 15 to No. 52 physical sales, and two to No. 5 Americana albums in its fifth week there. On the U.K. country compilations albums tally, Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection holds steady at No. 1 and Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 stays at No. 2, while The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe slides four to No. 13 and Original Album Series collections from Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris (each of which contains Dolly appearances) lose four to No. 14 and rise one to No. 16, respectively.

Deck The Halls With Boughs Of Dolly
Although the holiday was Monday, the 12 days of Christmas continue through Epiphany and just like you can still visit Dollywood through Jan. 6 you don't need to stop celebrating :) So here is your annual Dollymania holiday gift: a Christmas special from Nashville in 1969 featuring Porter & Dolly, The Wilburn Brothers, Loretta Lynn, and more here or in the media player below.

Dec. 25:
MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Dolly's Book Passes 75,000 Copies
Behind The Seams: My Life In Rhinestones has sold more than 75,000 copies since release in October, Forbes reported here. The tome earns a ninth week on the New York Times Best Seller List of Hardcover Nonfiction, gaining three to No. 9, and rising one to No. 12 Combined Hardcover and Ebook Nonfiction, where it earns a fifth week. On the Publishers Weekly list of hardcover nonfiction best sellers, it ranks No. 13.

RSVP Live Talks With Dolly
Another new interview popped up this week, this one from Irish site RSVP Live. Check it out here.

'Hard Candy Christmas' Makes 100 Best List
Billboard magazine has updated its list of the best 100 Christmas songs of all time and Dolly's "Hard Candy Christmas" makes No. 78. Read more here.

'Mountain Magic' Sees 2.3 Million Audience
Dolly Parton's Mountain Magic Christmas repeated on NBC Thursday night and saw 2.3 million viewers, third for the night to NBC's Christmas At Graceland and Dick Van Dyke 98 Years of Magic on CBS with 2.97 million each.

Dying Man Gets Dolly Call
Dolly filled a dying man's wish and called him on the phone, KSL reports in a heartwarming story here.

Dec. 20:
'Rockstar' Nearing Gold Status In U.S.
Dolly's Rockstar should be nearing eligibility for a gold album. Its chart performance announced Tuesday indicates it sold about 16,000 more units in its fourth week of release, bringing its U.S. total to about 190,000 copies, but since the RIAA credits double-CDs as two units toward gold and platinum awards, and four-LP sets as four units, it should have exceeded about 425,000 units sold toward the 500,000-unit gold minimum and perhaps three weeks or so away from selling that number. In addition, the RIAA are awarded based on units shipped to retailers, not necessarily sold, so if enough unsold sets have already been sent to stores, it could have already passed the half-million-copy threshold. On the Dec. 23 Billboard charts, the rock album dips 11 to No. 62 on the Top 200 but remains the nation's 10th-best-selling album of the week, holding steady at No. 10 Top Album Sales and gaining one to No. 9 Current Album Sales. The set declines one to No. 14 country albums, holds steady at No. 7 independent label albums, and falls two to No. 8 rock albums, and No. 11 rock and alternative albums. Dolly loses eight places to No. 40 on the Artist 100. Elsewhere on the charts, A Holly, Dolly Christmas Ultimate Deluxe Edition re-enters the Top Country Albums chart at No. 48. In other news, WMMR posted an interview Dolly did about the rock album with Pierre Robert here, and US Magazine named the album to its 25 best of the year here.

Drag '9 To 5' Headed To San Francisco
The movie classic 9 To 5 is getting yet another rebirth, this time with a trans-led, all-drag live stage version updated to the modern times and premiering at San Francisco's OASIS Jan. 11. 9 To 5 Live will run through Feb. 3. Read more here.

Superfans Buy Three Dolly Capes
Patric Parkey and Harrell Gabehart, who own the world's largest fan collection of Dolly memorabilia, have expanded their possessions with three more, having bought half of the Dolly capes from the 1970s recently auctioned by Julien's, The Ft. Worth Star-Telegram reports. Check out the article via Yahoo here, which notes the new acquisitions bring their collection total to 54 individual costumes worn by Dolly.

Dolly Included In Knoxville Holiday Special
A sneak peak into Dolly's holiday traditions are part of a new WVLT special, A Tennessee Family Christmas, airing 11 p.m. Christmas Eve and 9 a.m. Christmas Morning on the Knoxville station. "We got Dolly talking about Christmas, that's not bad!" said one of the hosts. "Kind of an A-lister there. Dolly loves Christmas, and like us, Christmas for her is about family."

Grindr Users Name Dolly No. 3 'Mother'
Grindr surveyed 10,000 of its gay male users to name this year's Mother of the Year. Beyonce came in first, followed by Taylor Swift at second, and Dolly third, then Kylie Minogue and Madonna.

Dolly Snags Another Lifetime Achievement Honor
The Women Film Critics Circle on Monday named Dolly their Lifetime Achievement Award recipient.

Dolly Talks About HeartSong Lodge
An interview with Dolly about her new HeartSong Lodge at Dollywood is featured in Fodors Travel here.

Haskell Daughter-In-Law Body Identified
Authorities this week confirmed the identity of the dismembered female body discovered in a dumpster in Los Angeles as the late wife of Sam Haskell IV, the son of Dolly's longtime television agent and producing partner, Sam Haskell. The younger Haskell appears on videotape allegedly dumping his wife's body into the dumpster after immigrant laborers he hired to haul the bags away became suspicious and opened one, returning them to him and calling the police. He is charged with killing his wife and her parents, whose bodies have not been located. Read more from Deadline here.

Dec. 18:
$60 Million Pirate Theatre Coming To Fla. Panhandle
Dolly last week announced expansion of her dinner theatre chain to Panama City Beach, Fla., where she will open her third Pirates Voyage Dinner & Show, joining Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Pigeon Forge, Tenn. Sister dinner theatre Dolly Parton's Stampede operates in Pigeon Forge and Branson, Mo., and she bought several existing dinner theatres in Pigeon Forge including the Hatfield & McCoys. The new restaurant will be located at Pier Park and is expected to open in spring 2025 with 60,000 square-feet of space and more than 1,000 seats around the 15-foot-deep lagoon. In a press release, Dolly said: "I'm so excited about bringing this show to such a great destination. With pirates, mermaids, exciting acrobatics, pyrotechnics, and even a few songs that I wrote, it's a show that is perfect for all ages. My Pirates Voyage Dinner & Show has been a huge success in Myrtle Beach, S.C., and in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and I knew that Panama City Beach was the perfect spot to open our third location. Everyone knows that I dream big, so we are going 'overboard' with the details as we prepare everything – from the show to the four-course pirates feast to the exterior of the building itself. I told my folks to get started as soon as possible, so we're breaking ground for construction in January!" The project is expected to cost $60 million and generate 300 jobs. Casting will begin in mid-2024.

'Behind The Seams' Remains On 'NYT' Best Seller List
Behind The Seams: My Life In Rhinestones earns an eighth week on the New York Times Best Seller List of Hardcover Nonfiction last week, slipping five to No. 12, and losing three to No. 13 Combined Hardcover and Ebook Nonfiction, where it earns a fourth week.

Aussie, U.K. Chart Updates
Down Under, Rockstar falls 14 spots to No. 25 country albums in its fourth week in Australia, where Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection holds steady at No. 15 and Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 falls back off the top 50, down from No. 40. Across the pond, the project falls off the top 100 pop albums chart, down from No. 26, dipping 11 to No. 37 sales, re-enters the downloads chart at No. 76, falls 10 to No. 37 physical sales, and one to No. 3 Americana albums in its fourth week there. On the U.K. country compilations albums tally, Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection gains one to No. 1 and Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 moves up one to No. 2, while The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe falls two to No. 9 and Original Album Series collections from Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris (each of which contains Dolly appearances) lose two to No. 10 and rise two to No. 17, respectively.

'Coat Of Many Colors' Re-Run Brings In 3 Million
NBC re-ran 2015's Dolly Parton's Coat Of Many Colors Friday night as part of its holiday programming, and it was the No. 2 show for its time slot with 2.8 million viewers, losing to ABC's Shark Tank at 3.1 million the first hour and 20/20 at 2.9 million the second hour.

Perfume Arrives At Pennys
Dolly has expanded availability of her Scent from Above perfume collection to JC Pennys, she announced on social media last week. Check out the reel here.

'Steel Magnolias' Returns To Cinemas in May
Fathom Events last week released its schedule of next year's monthly Big Screen Classics for cinema reissues, and the 35th anniversary of Steel Magnolias will be celebrated with screenings nationwide in May 2024.

Willie Doc Debuts Thursday On Paramount+
Willie Nelson & Family, a four-part documentary on the legendary singer-songwriter, premiere on Paramount+ Thursday. A popular selection at this year's Sundance Film Festival, Dolly is the first-billed interviewee in the project. Check out a trailer released last week here or in the media player below.

Dec. 14:
Pope Francis Gets Dolly's 'Rockstar'

Bake Again With Dolly
Dolly is once again promoting her baked goods with the holiday sugar cookie set earning a new video on her socials here or in the media player below.

Dec. 13:
'Rockstar' Sells 20,000 In Third Week
Dolly's Rockstar sold right at 20,000 copies in its third week to make it the week's 10th-best-selling album and taking it to about 175,000 units in the U.S. since release. The set loses 23 spots to No. 51 on the Dec. 16 Billboard Top 200 but dips only four to No. 10 Top Album Sales and Current Album Sales, seven to No. 13 country albums, two to No. 7 independent label albums, three to No. 6 rock albums, and four to No. 9 rock and alternative albums. The project falls off the top 100 Canadian albums, down from No. 59, and Dolly loses nine places to No. 32 on the Artist 100. Elsewhere on the charts, A Holly, Dolly Christmas falls off the top 50 Holiday Albums Chart, down from No. 47.

Dec. 11:
Dollywood Buys Music City Tower, Plans Hotel
The Dollywood Company, the partnership between Dolly and Herschend Enterprises that owns her theme park, water park, dinner theatres, and resort hotels, last week bought an 11-story, 233,000-square-foot building in downtown Nashville located at 211 Commerce Street for $75 million. While the company officially declined to release plans for the purchase, The Nashville Business Journal first reported in a story behind a paywall (but a free copy of which was shared by Biz Journals here a few days later) that "several sources" knowledgeable about the project had confirmed to the publication it will serve as a hotel. In a statement, Dolly noted: "Since the pandemic, commercial real estate is becoming an opportunity. I strongly believe in the future of Nashville and feel this is a great investment." The tower, opened in 2000, was bought for $50 million in 2021 by Lincoln Commerce SPE, which then made $16 million in improvements over the past two years.

'Rockstar' Third Week Sales Dip Below 20,000
Friday's Hits Daily Double top 50 albums reports indicate that when the Billboard charts are released on Tuesday we'll see Dolly's Rockstar fall out of the top 50 albums on the all-genre Top 200 with sales of less than 20,000 units and possibly fall out of the top 10 on the Top Country Albums. Down Under, the album falls out of the top 50 pop albums chart, down from No. 31, and loses five places to No. 11 country albums in its third week in Australia. Also on the country albums chart there, Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection gains one to No. 15 and Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 rises four to No. 40. Across the pond, the project rises 38 spots to No. 26 pop, loses nine to No. 26 sales, falls off the top downloads chart, down from No. 10, dips 20 to No. 27 physical sales, and holds steady at No. 2 Americana albums in its third week there. On the U.K. country compilations albums tally, Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection holds steady at No. 2 and Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 rises one to No. 3, while The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe slips two to No. 7 and Original Album Series collections from Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris (each of which contains Dolly appearances) fall two to No. 8 and No. 19, respectively, while Harris' second installment in the series falls back out of the top 20, down from No. 20.

New Dolly Doc Headed To U.K. Channel 5
The U.K.'s Channel 5 last week announced a new 90-minute special the network had commissioned about Dolly that will premiere near month's end. Dolly Parton: In Her Own Words was produced by Lonesome Pine using new interviews and archival footage to explore what has made Dolly so revered worldwide. In addition to Dolly, who talks about her work and how it led to her new rock album, interviews include Emmylou Harris, Peter Frampton, and Ken Bruce. It airs at 9 p.m. Dec. 29 on Channel 5.

'Here You Come Again' To Play In U.K.
Bruce Vilanch's Dolly jukebox musical Here You Come Again is heading across the pond for a summer 2024 tryout at the Playhouse in Leeds, which is expected to be followed by a national British tour and then a run on London's West End, its equivalent of New York's Broadway. Vilanch had created the show, which features an actress playing an imaginary Dolly and singing her biggest hits to help a fan deal with life's problems, has been reimagined for the jump to England, having been adapted for British audiences by playwright Jonathan Harvey, although it will bring as Dolly Tricia Paoluccio, who portrayed her in a brief tour of the show in the U.S. this year. It will run July 4 to Aug. 3 in Leeds prior to the tour, a schedule for which is expected soon. Vilanch had previously said he had agreed not to take the show to Broadway so it does not compete with Dolly's plans to tell her life story as an original musical within the next two years, but a West End run had not been publicly addressed until now.

'Behind The Seams' Gains On NYT Best Seller List
On the New York Times Best Seller List, Dolly's Behind The Seams: My Life In Rhinestones gains three to No. 7 in its seventh week on the Hardcover Nonfiction chart, also earning a third week on its Combined Hardcover and Ebook Nonfiction at No. 10. Over in Publisher's Weekly, the title re-enters their top 15 at No. 11 for hardcover nonfiction.

Louisville Interview With Dolly
Louisville Public Media last week posted a new interview with Dolly, which is available here or in the media player below.

Dec. 6:
'Rockstar' Second Week Chart Entries Revealed
Dolly's Rockstar remains strong in its second chart week on the Dec. 9 Billboard numbers released Tuesday. Last week's No. 1 on six charts, it falls five to No. 6 Top Album Sales, Current Album Sales, and Country Albums, five to No. 5 Independent Label Albums and Rock and Alternative Albums, and two to No. 3 Rock Albums. It drops off the Top Vinyl Albums chart, down from No. 2, and loses 25 places to No. 28 Top 200, while Dolly slips 20 spots to No. 23 Artist 100. The set loses 41 to No. 59 Canadian albums. Elsewhere on the charts, A Holly, Dolly Christmas dips two to No. 47 on the Top Holiday Albums Chart.

Library Goes Statewide In Illinois
Illinois officials on Tuesday announced the statewide expansion of Dolly's Imagination Library early childhood literacy program. Learn more here.

Dec. 4:
'Rockstar' Moves 26,000 In Second Week
Preliminary sales estimates out Friday show Dolly's Rockstar will be credited with about 26,000 album units for its second week of release, which should keep it in the overall top 30 albums and top 10 country albums when the charts are released Tuesday. The Hits Daily Double numbers had about 23,000 in sales and full-album downloads, about 400 credits for individual track downloads, and about 2,600 credits for streaming. That should put it around No. 25 on the all-genre Top 200 albums and likely see it drop from last week's No. 1 selling album of the week down to around No. 7, down from No. 1 country albums to around No. 6, and from No. 1 rock albums down to around No. 3.

Down Under, the album slides 15 places to No. 31 pop, three spots to No. 6 country and off the top 20 vinyl albums list, down from No. 19, in its second week in Australia.

Across the pond, the U.K. charts see it fall 59 digits to No. 64 pop, 20 to No. 22 Scottish albums, 14 to No. 17 sales, eight to No. 10 downloads, 13 to No. 7 physical sales, and one to No. 2 Americana albums in its second week there. On the U.K. country compilations albums tally, Diamonds & Rhinestones, The Greatest Hits Collection dips one to No. 2 and Very Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 1 loses two to No. 4, while The Complete Trio Collection Deluxe gains two to No. 5 and Original Album Series collections from Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris (each of which contains Dolly appearances) hold steady at at No. 8 and rise two to No. 17, respectively, while Harris' second installment in the series re-enters the top 20 at No. 20.

On the New York Times Best Seller List, Dolly's Behind The Seams: My Life In Rhinestones gains four to No. 10 in its sixth week on the chart.

Dolly's rock album success earned her manager Danny Nozell Billboard's Executive of the Week designation, with an interview about the project here and about Dolly keeping her outfit a secret until showtime here.

MSNBC predicts here she could be in the running for Time's Person of the Year, while Dolly has new interviews available online from the cover story in Metro Weekly here and interview with New Yorker here.