Dolly Parton Became the World’s Most-Streamed Artist Following Her Death

In the wake of Dolly Parton‘s death, millions of listeners returned to the songs she left behind. By the next day, she was the most-streamed artist in the world. According to evolving data from Luminate, Parton’s catalog drew 30.5 million streams in the US on August 25th, the day she died, up from just 1.2 million the day before. That’s a 2,458% increase. By the next day, the US total had climbed even higher to 46.3 million. Worldwide, the jump was just as dramatic. Parton’s streams rose from 2.5 million on August 24th to 41.8 million the following day. Then, on August 26th, she logged 79.7 million on-demand audio streams globally, enough to make her the most-streamed artist in the world for that day. As one may have expected, “Jolene” led the rush back to her catalog. The song went from about 196,000 US streams on Monday to 3.3 million on Tuesday before climbing to 4 million on Wednesday. “9 to 5” followed in kind, jumping from about 209,000 streams to 3 million and then 3.6 million over the same stretch. “Islands in the Stream,” her duet with Kenny Rogers, reached 2.9 million US streams by Wednesday, while her rendition of “I Will Always Love You,” which she famously gave to Whitney Houston, climbed to 2.8 million. That attention has made its way onto the charts. Five Parton songs entered the Billboard Global 200 this week, led by “Jolene” at No. 16. “9 to 5” landed at No. 25, followed by “Islands in the Stream” at No. 43, “I Will Always Love You” at No. 55, and “Here You Come Again” at No. 133. Her albums are getting another life, too. The 2003 greatest-hits collection Ultimate Dolly Parton re-entered the Billboard 200 at No. 5 with 59,000 equivalent album units, giving Parton the second-highest-charting album of her career. The compilation had previously peaked at just No. 112 and hadn’t appeared on the chart since 2020. Parton died on August 25th at the age of 80 following a brief battle with cancer. In the days since, tributes have poured in from across the music world, including remembrances from Miley Cyrus, Kacey Musgraves, Paul McCartney, Taylor Swift, Jack White, and countless others. Consequence has also detailed the extensive roadmap of music, films, books, and other projects — including her upcoming Dollyfest celebration — Parton left behind, which her longtime manager says is intended to continue her work “for decades to come.”