Emmy Russell sings grandma Loretta Lynn's song on 'American Idol': 'I'm proud to be a coal miner's great-granddaughter'
Emmy has yearned to escape her Memaw's "big shadow" and find her "own voice," but this week, she came to terms with her family legacy and did Loretta proud.
American Idol's third annual Judges' Song Contest took place Monday, and for those of you who missed the first two Judges' Song Contests, here's how it works: Each contestant in the top eight is given three songs to choose from, without knowing which judge has suggested the songs. By the end of the episode, the judge whose song picks are performed the most is declared the contest's victor.
When it came time for Emmy Russell, Loretta Lynn's granddaughter, to perform, I wondered which judge had had the audacity to suggest "Coal Miner's Daughter" for her. (Spoiler alert: It was Katy Perry. Of course it was.) The shy and fragile Emmy, who has long yearned to establish herself as an artist in her own right, has repeatedly claimed that it's been daunting trying to escape her grandmother's "big shadow" and find her "own voice." And quite frankly, the fact that she has made it this far on the show, beating out several technically superior vocalists, has had many irate Idol viewers crying nepotism, claiming that Emmy's heritage has given her some sort of competitive edge. So, I never thought Emmy would choose the Loretta cover. I figured she'd go with Dolly Parton's "Here You Come Again," or maybe KT Tunstall's "Suddenly I See."
But then... Emmy chose the Loretta cover!
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