Emmy Russell Honors Grandma Loretta Lynn With Latest IDOL Performance

Published: May 2, 2024

Emmy Russell Honors Grandma Loretta Lynn With Latest IDOL Performance

By Movieguide® Contributor

Loretta Lynn’s granddaughter Emmy Russell shared her pride in her family ahead of her AMERICAN IDOL performance of Lynn’s “Coal Miner’s Daughter.”

“I would always run away from my family and just not want to be a part of it,” Russell explained. “And I think this was the first time that I said, ‘I’m proud. I’m proud to be in this family ’cause with the family comes a blessing, but with it comes a curse.”

She continued, “I think just closing my eyes and telling her, ‘I’m proud of you.’ I did that in rehearsal. I was like, ‘I’m proud of you.’ I want people to feel proud of their story, where they’ve come from, and I hope that that song made them feel like, ‘Oh, I can be proud of where I come from.’ I’m just really grateful.”

Russell shared that judge Katy Perry encouraged her to sing her grandmother’s song.

“I feel this weird connection with Katy. I feel like she encouraged me so much and I just felt like it was her wanting me to be Emmy but then be proud of where I’ve come from too,” she said.

Russell and Lynn’s family members showed their support for her performance online.

“So proud on my baby girl,” Russell’s mother Patsy posted on Instagram, while Lynn’s sister, Crystal Gayle, wrote, “Emmy Russell you made your grandmother proud singing ‘Coal Miners Daughter’ last night on AMERICAN IDOL You were wonderful!!”

Her performance of “Coal Miner’s Daughter” moved Russell into the Top 7 on AMERICAN IDOL, and she knows Lynn would be proud of how far she’s come.

“She’d be just like, ‘About time, honey.’ That’s all I hear her saying. ‘About time, honey. You have it in you.’ She used to always tell me — and I say this a lot — ‘God doesn’t give a plumber tools not to use.’ And so it’s like, if God gives you a gift, don’t just throw it away,” Russell told PEOPLE last month.

Movieguide® previously reported on Russell’s musical connection with her grandmother:

Emmy Russell, the granddaughter of country icon Loretta Lynn, is opening up about her songwriting process.

“I’m a songwriter,” Russell, who is currently competing on AMERICAN IDOL, explained. “It’s in my blood. When I was 9, I wrote my first real song.”

Russell often talks about the special connection she had with Lynn, telling Southern Living’s “Biscuits & Jam” podcast that her grandmother “passed down her guitar to me when I was 15 at the Ryman Auditorium.”

“She said ‘You’re the one that can do it.’ She always thought I had this spark about me ever since I was a little kid,” she continued. “She felt she needed to give me the guitar as the torch in a way.”