Wherever Jolene is out there somewhere, she’s not getting a moment’s rest — Beyoncé and Dolly Parton are making sure of that. On her new album ACT II: COWBOY CARTER, Beyoncé debuted a fresh take on the classic cut “JOLENE,” which has now debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100, surpassing the chart success of the original.
While the legacy of the original song is clearly unimpeachable — there’s a reason Queen Bey was interested in covering it, after all — this marks the first time any version of “Jolene” has entered the Top 10 on the chart, which launched in 1958. Of course, chart determination factors were also extremely different in 1973, and despite the fact that Dolly’s “Jolene” peaked at No. 60 in its original run, the song has remained a prominent pop culture staple for decades.
While Beyoncé provided full songwriting credit to Parton for the 2024 take on “JOLENE,” her warnings to the titular character are vastly different from the perspective Parton offered in the ’70s. Begging, pleading, and desperation aren’t really in Beyoncé’s vocabulary.
The love for “JOLENE” isn’t the only noteworthy Billboard moment of the day; Beyoncé has also become the first Black woman to top the country albums chart. Read our review of the genre-blending project here.
Meanwhile, Dolly recently released an emotional take on Tom Petty’s “Southern Accents,” which will appear on a forthcoming compilation of covers titled Petty Country: A Country Music Celebration of Tom Petty. Revisit our review diving into the impact of Parton’s iconic Jolene album.