Emmy Russell, a third-generation performer aiming to meet and differently exceed her iconic Nashville roots, is attempting to do so by auditioning for American Idol’s 22nd season,
Time spent being judged and mentored by Luke Bryan, Katy Perry, and Lionel Richie could springboard a career already achieving acclaim.
As the granddaughter of the late Country Music Hall of Famer Loretta Lynn (and niece of 22-time global country chart-topper Crystal Gayle), the first decade of Russell’s Nashville career has intermittently included the release of singles and in 2023, a debut at the Grand Ole Opry.
Another appearance on the Opry’s stage — along with Willie Nelson’s son, Lukas, at her grandmother’s CMT-broadcast memorial — earned her a Performance of the Year nomination at the 2023 CMT Music Awards.
Russell’s now 25 and re-engaging with her career after spending part of her early 20s traveling worldwide as a Christian missionary.
Contemplating her development as being one where the pressure to discover her artistic voice is compounded by also being in ownership of one of her grandmother’s guitars for a decade is essential.
Thus, the idea that she’s shyly emerging like a metaphorical butterfly from a chrysalis makes sense.
Standing in front of judges for American Idol with nearly 70 No. 1 singles between them allows a moment for her most eager embrace to date of the potential challenge of a career achieved within but without the strain of feeling solely defined by her legacy.
Russell says her hands were shaking on her guitar while playing in her Idol audition.
She’s still very much both “a nervous girl playing at a talent show.” Still, like so many viral Nashville hopefuls, amplifying her visibility via social media and leaning on the mentorship of established artists — in her case, her legendary grandmother — to inspire her growth.
Learning the humility required to engage with listeners as an artist uniquely arrived at the end of the first two chapters of a creative journey involving traveling with Lynn as a teenager and engaging with theological education and evangelism in Brazil.
“God didn’t create me to be someone who dressed and looked like [country’s stereotypical traditions], to the point of turning up my Southern accent when I was onstage. My family is obviously important to me, but [having comfort in myself] aside from that, I’ve lived my own life at this point and want to share some of the stories [from my existence].”
Humorously, she notes that another person with Christianity in their creative passions — former contemporary Christian artist and Idol judge Perry — without even asking Russell about their shared roots, called her a “messenger carrying a light.”
Last year, that journey revealed her social media-popular song “Skinny,” which chronicles her problems with disordered eating, the pressures of the image-conscious music industry and embracing authentic self-love to endure those struggles.
“The beauty of my art lies deeper than my skin and the perception of my image,” says Russell.
Her Idol audition arrives as she’s also working with Grammy-winning Songwriting Hall of Famer Liz Rose on songs that aim for honest exposition over the presumption of commercial appeal.
Peerless talents from the singing and songwriting crafts of a half-century of popular music have arrived in the career of an artist growing confident in standing within but without many guiding lights in their life and art.
For Emmy Russell, the potential of what American Idol’s 24th season perhaps could hold is significant.
“I’m not trying to please anyone other than myself — but if people find themselves and their journey in my songs, that will allow me to make this my work for the rest of my life.”
First appeared on www.tennessean.com