Why American Idol Star Emmy Russell Was ‘So Mad’ At Judges

Former American Idol star Emmy Russell has revealed her anger over being asked to sing one of her grandmother Loretta Lynn‘s country music hits on the ABC show.

“When I saw the song choice, there was immense sadness whenever I saw it because [Lynn] just passed away very recently,’” Russell, 25, recalled in a 2024 interview with “The Thrivalist Podcast with Jamie George” that recently resurfaced.

The former Idol contestant looked back on the “Judges’ Song Contest” episode in April 2024, when Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan each pitched a song for the hopefuls to perform. Russell had to pick between her grandmother’s 1970 classic “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” “Here You Come Again” by Dolly Parton or “Suddenly I See” by KT Tunstall.

In her recent podcast interview, Russell admitted she was “so mad” at the judges for encouraging her to sing her grandmother’s signature song.

“So on American Idol, I did my grandma’s song. Well, they actually let the judges pick three songs. And the only one I knew was ‘Coal Miner’s Daughter,’” she remembered. “I’m already facing so much, trying to act in courage, and I just remember seeing that and I was so mad. I was like, ‘Ugh.’”

At the time, Russell felt as if singing “Coal Miner’s Daughter” would “add to” complaints from some viewers that she’d only made it through to the Idol live shows because of nepotism.

“It was weird because I still felt that small voice say, ‘I need you to stay, and I need you to show up,’” she remembered. “And I got on the piano and I played ‘Coal Miner’s Daughter’ for the vocal coaches… and it was just how I wanted to play it.”

The singer-songwriter eventually embraced the responsibility of covering “Coal Miner’s Daughter” soon after Lynn died in October 2022.

“I mean, it’s my grandma’s song,” she recalled. “[You] can’t get much closer to the heart than your own blood. I know ‘Coal Miner’s Daughter’ like the back of my hand and so I think I want to do it more of, like, an ode, almost like a way of hugging her. I’m literally just a granddaughter singing this song to her grandma. I need to be proud that I am a granddaughter of Loretta Lynn.”

She cited an unlikely inspiration for pushing through her anxiousness, after finding a commonality with Jennifer Lawrence‘s heroic character Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games.

“I looked up [Katniss’s home in] District 12, and District 12 is coal miners,” she revealed, to gasps from the podcast hosts.

Russell earned rave reviews on social media for her stripped-down cover of “Coal Miner’s Daughter” on the April 29, 2024 episode and ultimately made it to Idol‘s Top 5 before being eliminated one week before the finals. Abi Carter won Idol season 22 on May 19, 2024.

Idol has lined up another celebrity relative for its upcoming 23rd season, as Backstreet Boys star Brian Littrell‘s son Baylee Littrell has confirmed he had auditioned for judges Bryan, Richie and Carrie Underwood. Baylee has already released an E.P. of his original music, in addition to performing on Broadway at just 13 years old in the 2016 production of Disaster!.

Elsewhere, Idol is undergoing a shakeup at the judges’ table for season 23, following Perry’s recent departure. Country music legend Underwood is joining Bryan and Richie, after winning American Idol’s fourth season in 2015

American Idol season 23 premieres on Sunday, March 9 at 8p.m. ET on ABC.