Emmy Russell Reveals She Really Didn’t Want To Sing Loretta Lynn On ‘American Idol’

Emmy Russell has revealed that she wasn’t so pleased to have to perform Loretta Lynn’s “Coal Miner’s Daughter” when she was on American Idol in 2024.

To those who tuned in to watch her performance, this may sound like a crazy statement. When Russell performed the piano-led rendition of her grandmother’s signature song, not only did she do the country legend justice, but she displayed her own talents, too. It was a beautiful performance.

However, she was hesitant to perform Lynn’s song.

Emmy Russell sat down on The Thrivalist Podcast, where she touched on this moment in her American Idol run. The clip of her discussing this was shared to Instagram.

It turns out that she didn’t have too much choice in the matter. “Judges picked three songs, and the only one I knew was ‘Coal Miner’s Daughter,’” she explained. It turns out that she didn’t want to perform a song from her legendary grandmother as she was facing backlash due to ‘nepotism.’

She “didn’t want to add” to the claims that she was only on the show due to her familial relations. By singing a song by Loretta Lynn, she was worried she’d add more fuel to the fire.

“I just remember seeing that and I was so mad,” she continued.

Emmy Russell Performed Loretta Lynn Despite Reservations

Although she wasn’t too thrilled to have to perform “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” she revealed a “still, small voice” convinced her.

“I need you to stay. I need you to show,” she said the voice told her. “And I got on the piano and I played ‘Coal Miner’s Daughter’ for the vocal coaches. It was just how I wanted to play it. I had this entire vision for it.”

It seems like her vision was idealized, as the performance was incredible.

Fans took to the comments to share their support of the singer.

“Anyone who saw her perform as a younger girl on her grandmother’s tour would know she has talent,and she didn’t get where she is because of who her grandmother is,” one wrote. And I agree wholeheartedly.

Bizarrely enough, she also said that identifying with Katniss Everdeen from the Hunger Games series helped her mentally get past the potential backlash. Strangely enough, Katniss is from District 12. And that district’s main industry is coal mining.

Coincidence? Well, yeah, but how weird is that?