In Elle King's world, few heroes loom larger than Dolly Parton. In the year and a half since King's debut dropped, the New York-born, L.A.-bred singer has become a harbinger of the soul revival, and a vibrant, filter-free beacon for the music industry as whole. Between her breakout single "Ex's & Oh's" and her latest hit, the cheekily titled "America' Sweetheart," King is making country cool again, and injecting some attitude into the genre while she does it.

When sat down with King to talk songwriting idols and dream collaborations, she name-checked an obvious source of empowerment inspiration: the one and only Dolly Parton.