Emmy Russell certainly stepped out from underneath the shadow of her grandmother Loretta Lynn during her time on American Idol. The nation watched as a shy Russell learned to own her voice and conquer her nerves on stage throughout this season.
The Emmy Russell America met months ago in her audition is not the same Emmy Russell seen performing in the semi-finals. Sadly, the 24-year-old was eliminated just short of the Top 3.
“I think there is a reason why I think I am a little timid and I think it is because I want to own my voice,” she said in her audition. “That’s why I want to challenge myself and come out here and really step in and be like, ‘Ok, come on Emmy.'”
“I think you came in like a mouse,” judge Katy Perry said at the time.
“A baby mouse,” Luke Bryan chimed in.
Russell is a mouse no more, as she worked her way into the Top 5 and captured the hearts of America along the way.
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Who Is Emmy Russell?
Russell is the granddaughter of country music legend Lynn, but that’s not where the musical talent stops. Other musically inclined family members include Crystal Gale, Jay Lee Webb, Peggy Sue, Ernest Ray Lynn and others. Even her mother, Patsy Lynn Russell, was part of a duo with her twin sister Peggy called The Lynns.
See a full family tree of Russell’s talented kin here.
The American Idol hopeful spent much of her younger years backstage at Lynn’s shows. From time to time, the “Coal Miner’s Daughter” singer would invite her on stage to sing with her.
Russell has performed in front of quite a few audiences and has even graced the Grand Ole Opry stage.
In addition to her singing voice, Russell has a gift for songwriting. She brought a couple of her original songs to the show.
“All of my songs are basically a confession,” she said earlier in the season. “I write songs that I’m scared to sing.”
Keep scrolling to relive Emmy Russell’s performances on Season 22 of American Idol.
