Will Loretta Lynn’s Granddaughter Sing Her Way to a Gold Ticket to Hollywood on ‘American Idol’?
Emmy Russell
As the saying goes, “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” and on Sunday night’s American Idol auditions judges Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan discovered the truth in that for 24-year-old Emmy Russell. A songwriter from Nashville, Tenn., Emmy shared that her grandmother was country music legend Loretta Lynn.
“She’s one of the biggest country singers of all time but to me she’s just my grandma,” Emmy said. “Growing up on the bus. All that was very normal to me.”
That may have been the case but when Emmy showed up at American Idol, she had a serious case of nerves that made her speak very timidly.
When Luke commented on how quiet she was, Emmy responded, “I think there’s a reason why I’m a little timid and I think it’s because I want to own my voice. That’s why I wanted to challenge myself and come out here and really step in and be, ‘Okay, come on Emmy.'”
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Katy reassured her, “Grandma was a great singer but she had her own style. If you’ve got your own style, you’ve got your own lane.”
With that encouragement, Emmy sat down at the piano and performed a song that she wrote about eating disorders called “Skinny.”
“Emmy, you’re an A+ songwriter,” Katy said following the audition. “So, is your grandma. You’ve got the gift. I don’t think you need to compare yourself to what grandma was. You’re totally different. You shouldn’t give yourself all that pressure. You came in like a mouse.”
Luke jumped in saying, “A baby mouse.”
And they made Emmy speak up and identify herself in a more confident voice.
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Lionel then said, “You have promise and I like your promise. Each one of us is trying to battle something that we’re trying to overcome. In your case, you’ve got big shoes. Now, if I could just get you to put those shoes back in the closet, that’s not your size.”
And Luke told her, “We’ve just got to lift you up and get you more confident. You just need to own it. Emmy, I’m a yes.”
Lionel was a yes and Katy, too, which made Emmy cry because she’s going to Hollywood.
“I was thinking about my grandma,” she said. “But she’s also with me like, ‘It’s your turn.’ I think I’m more like her now than when I was trying to be like her. I’m really excited.”
American Idol airs Sunday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.
