American Idol 2024: Emmy Russell does her grandma Loretta Lynn proud singing ‘Coal Miner’s Daughter’
Monday night on American Idol was the Judges Song Contest which is always one of the more entertaining themes of the season, from who wins the contest and gets to choose who moves on, to some of the mind-boggling song choices offered by the judges. One singer who stood out and had a moment was Emmy Russell. It was only fitting that she had that moment performing her grandmother, Loretta Lynn’s song “Coal Miner’s Daughter.” (Read our Recap)
In her package, Emmy shared that she felt connected to Katy Perry from the start, saying, “She has just really been encouraging.” Katy encouraging her to speak up and be more confident in her audition is one of her favorite moments of the whole competition.
She said there was an “immense sadness” when she saw Coal Miner’s Daughter on the list, as her grandma, Loretta Lynn, passed away recently. She added, “it doesn’t get much closer to the heart than your blood.” Emmy wanted to sing it as an ode. Vocal coach Adriana McPhee noted that Emmy’s version didn’t sound like the original and music director Phredley added that the “honesty in all of that will draw people in so close.” Emmy broke down in rehearsal. As her package ended, similar to her audition, she introduced herself saying, “I am Emmy Russell, I am 24 years old, and I am proud to be a coal-miner’s great-granddaughter.”
Emmy chose her grandmother’s song over Dolly Parton’s “Here You Come Again” and KT Tunstall’s “Suddenly I See.”
Katy Perry chose the song
Emmy was on the piano, and from the beginning it was clear that her version would sound nothing like the original. Emmy made it totally her own. What’s interesting is she is not a country singer, she is more of an indie pop singer-songwriter. Her tone was magical during this performance, and it was also her most dynamic performance to date. The performance was both emotional yet very composed at the same time. She displayed ache to her voice in the bigger parts of the song as she ended it. And for the first time in the live shows, I saw Emmy’s artistry come through on a song that’s not an original of hers.
Emmy’s parents were in the crowd and are in tears. The judges stood and applauded her. Emmy correctly guessed Katy as the one who picked the song. In a full-circle moment from her audition where she lacked confidence, Katy said, “I chose this song not because Loretta Lynn is your grandma. I chose this song because you are Emmy Russell, and you can do anything now as Emmy Russell.” Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie were at a loss for words. Lionel simply said, “just vote.”
Heartbreaking elimination
Katy won the song contest after four contestants chose her songs. The show also featured two duets and one quartet performing judges songs, like Emmy’s duet with Jack Blocker singing Lionel Richie’s “Hello.” Both performances allowed Emmy to go through to the next round.
The episode was the best singing we have heard all season in a single show. The competitors really brought it with no one performance sticking out as being a total misstep. Tonight was so strong, I am not going to even try to pick out the stand out performances, but I will say that Katy having to save McKenna Faith Breinholt while sending Kaibrienne home was one of the toughest results we have seen yet as both were so deserving.
