Duet – Skin Back Alley

Photo: Jonathan Short/Invision/AP

All eyes may have been on Metallica’s set at Glastonbury last weekend, but in the end it was Dolly Parton’s appearance the following day that seemed to generate all the headlines.

Whilst the California thrash kings’ show went off in style and largely without a bad word, Parton’s set seems to have unexpectedly attracted conflict and controversy.

In a pre-show press conference, Dolly was quoted as saying: “This is a very exciting day for me and we’ve got all kinds of things going on.”

“I don’t have a bit of mud on me!” she continued. “When I was coming in this morning I was looking at all the mud and thinking, this is not that different from where I grew up in the mud. My daddy was a farmer in East Tennessee and I grew up on a farm — mud is mud wherever you go.”

When Dolly took to the stage, her set included a cover of Alicia Keys’ hit single “Girl On Fire”, and a guest appearance by sometime Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora, who duetted with Parton on the New Jersey stadium rockers’ song “Lay Yours Hands On Me.” A studio version of the song features on Parton’s new album, Blue Smoke.

Nevertheless, whilst all seemed to be going well on stage, accusations started flying across the web that Parton was in fact lip-synching her set, rather than performing live. The first suggestion seemed to be made by Sky News’ Kay Burley via Twitter, labeling the country megastar’s show “disappointing.”

Actor Stephen Fry was among those coming to Parton’s defense, saying it was an “HD live processor issue” which made her appear to be miming such legendary hits as “Islands in the Stream” and “Jolene.”

In a statement, a Parton representative has strenuously denied the miming claim, saying, “Some people don’t know an amazing singer when they hear one.”

Watch Dolly Parton and Richie Sambora’s duet below and decide for yourself!