Vin Diesel's Dolly Parton tribute: Watch full video as ‘I Will Love You’ rendition floors fans; ‘hit him pretty hard’

Actor Vin Diesel , best known for the Fast & Furious film franchise, delivered a haunting rendition of Dolly Parton 's I Will Always Love You after the iconic singer's death at 80.

Parton passed away on August 25, 2026 after a brief battle with cancer. She was known for songs like Jolene and I Will Always Love You, though the latter was popularized by Whitney Houston, especially if one happened to watch Kevin Costner's Bodyguard.

Vin Diesel's version was characterized by the actor's trademark heavy voice as he crooned the lines of Parton's song. “If I should stay, I would only be in your way, So I'll go, but I know, I'll think of you every step of the way,” the actor crooned.

Fans were taken aback by the touching tribute Vin Diesel paid to the late singer. Recordings of Diesel's rendition were also shared on X.

“Just sharing Vin Diesel’s Dolly tribute for anyone who doesn’t follow him on Instagram,” one wrote.

Another added “I wouldn’t have thought Vin Diesel of all celebs had any particularly strong connection to Dolly Parton…But clearly this has hit him pretty hard (Also I did not know he could sing ).” Yet another said “I don’t know why Vin Diesel’s tribute to Dolly Parton is the one that finally broke me. Just I Will Always Love You and. Maybe because there’s something incredibly human about seeing someone we associate with toughness and strength stop for a moment and simply mourn. Damn. This one got me.”

Also Read | Dolly Parton's final encore? A Houston bar turns tribute night into a party

Many also commented on his Instagram reel. One wrote “it really is this serious.” Another added “You nailed it king! Thank you.” Yet another said “Oddly enough this was comforting to me.”

No, Vin Diesel is not a trained singer, but he's got the singing chops as the actor has shown in the past. When shooting for XXX: The Return of Xander Cage in Toronto, Diesel sang with Sharon Riley and the Faith Chorale, a 13-member choir.

“We’re filming a scene in a church and I had a dream that the film would include a choir, and we went through thousands of choirs and selected which choir would be in the movie,” he had written on Facebook, adding “I just wanted to say that a dream of mine has always been to have the confidence to sing in a choir. Although my grandmother would take me to the choir every weekend, I never had that little bit of confidence to get up there and sing. So since I’m in a circle of love with Sharon Riley and the Faith Chorale, I am going to attempt what I thought was not possible,” as per Global News . The Facebook post is not available now.

Shuvrajit has over seven years of experience covering US, India, and world news. An English Literature postgraduate from Jadavpur University, Shuvrajit started off covering entertainment, gaming and all things pop culture. There were brief periods away from the media industry, with short stints in content marketing, ed-tech and academic editing.