In a USA Today/Tennessean exclusive, for KING & COUNTRY’s Joel Smallbone explained how the collaboration came to be. After watching Dolly’s Netflix movie, “Dumplin,” Joel fell in love with the film’s plot and soundtrack, leading him to reach out to Dolly.

“When I first heard ‘God Only Knows’ I thought it was one of the best songs I’d ever heard,” Dolly said. “I came from a very spiritual background, and I love anything to do with inspirational songs that lift people up. I feel that this is a good song for right now, and it’s so well written. I know that it touched me at a time when I needed to be lifted up.”

Dolly Parton and GRAMMYⓇ Award-Winning Duo, for KING & COUNTRY, announce duet of the hit single “God Only Knows”

Dolly Parton has joined two-time GRAMMYⓇ award-winning duo for KING & COUNTRY for a brand-new version of the group’s award-winning single “God Only Knows,” as well as a powerful music video. Dolly’s presence on the track takes the song to new heights, with shimmering acoustic guitars complementing the song’s message of hope.

For KING & COUNTRY’s Joel Smallbone reflected, 

“Hearing Dolly sing that chorus and those words was an out of body experience for us as writers and artists. As soon as we heard her vocals on the track, we immediately realized that this song was meant for her voice.”

Additionally, Dolly is featured in a powerful new music video for “God Only Knows,” as she and the Smallbone brothers struggle to find themselves before resigning to faith and belief. The full-length video was shot in Nashville, produced by Patrick Tohill and directed by Benjamin Smallbone. 

“God Only Knows” recently won “Song of the Year” honors at the K-LOVE awards, received a Dove Award nomination for Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year, and held the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Top Christian Songs chart for 11 weeks. Additionally, the song hit Top 30 on Mediabase and Billboard’s Hot AC charts while garnering 330 million radio impressions and over 65 million streams across all digital platforms.