Miley Cyrus opens up about her final conversation with godmother Dolly Parton

NEW YORK — Miley Cyrus has revealed what she and her godmother, the late singer-songwriter Dolly Parton, spoke about in their final conversation.

Speaking to DJ and producer Zane Lowe on his Apple Music show in an episode released Thursday, Cyrus became emotional discussing her close relationship with Parton, who died in August, aged 80, following a brief cancer battle.

Cyrus said that Parton was always the first person she sent her new vinyls to. "And this time around I'm going to send her a vinyl because I always do," said Cyrus, whose 10th studio album, "Bass Persuades," released on Friday.

Cyrus paused, telling Lowe she was "just trying to keep myself together."

"The time that we talked, which was the last time we would talk, it was actually me telling her about this record because, even though we are so different, that's what made us so perfect for each other is that – and she knew this and I know this – she is known for… the faux, the fake, the hair, the makeup, the show of it. But there's a part of her that's just what everyone gravitates towards, (which) is how real she is and how authentic she is."

The Grammy winner reflected on the parallels between herself and Parton, who she said provided something of a guiding light to a young Cyrus navigating stardom through her alter ego Hannah Montana on her own Disney Channel show.

"There was a time in my life – we hit on it with Hannah – (where) so much of my life was about persona," she recalled, "And I think a way that I could look at that as, you can have a persona and still be who you are, is because I had Dolly."

Parton's friendship with Cyrus' father, "Achy Breaky Heart" singer Billy Ray-Cyrus, earned her the role of godmother. And Parton's advice proved invaluable to Cyrus.

Cyrus spoke about how the "really stabilizing peers that I have in my life (are from) generations before me."

"And they've laid down, brick-by-brick, the road that I travel now. And they aren't always going to be here for me to call them and say, 'What do I do now?' Which I always did with Dolly," she said.

Cyrus added that, "Dolly was just always right about stuff," and would give Cyrus advice like, "Get your hair teased and get a dress that you love," when encouraging her to get back on stage if Cyrus was in a slump.

Related topics