Kacey Musgraves thinks Dolly Parton has been a "great teacher".

Kacey Musgraves

Kacey Musgraves

The 'Space Cowboy' singer has paid tribute to the '9 To 5' hitmaker and 'You Ain't Woman Enough's Loretta Lynn for "staying true to their visions" even "in the face of disapproval".

Speaking at Variety's Power of Women event in New York, she spoke of her heroes, adding: "Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton. OK, they got the big hair and they're frilly and they're rhinestone and they're glamorous, but they're important for more than that. They're writers and they wrote about real things - birth control, women's libido, husbands that drink. And even if the subject matter was thought to be controversial and banned by radio, they had the courage to stay true to these visions in the face of disapproval, especially at that time. It must have required some gigantic balls."

Meanwhile, Kacey previously admitted she made her album 'Golden Hour' to "reach people way outside of country music" - and she's prepared for the backlash.

She said: "I'm really excited and anxious for everyone to hear the album. I'm not going to lie, it was a little daunting. There's a lot of traditionalists, especially in the Americana world, that feel you almost have to prove how country you are, or stay a certain type of country to be country, but that's just not the way music is supposed to be made. There's going to be people who are going to say, 'Oh, she's made a pop album - there's synthesisers on this!' I always want to go wherever I'm led, wherever I'm inspired to go. That's what happened this time."