She’s got Jelly Roll’s stamp of approval.
This week on American Idol, the Grammy-nominated country superstar made an appearance as a guest judge as the competition narrowed to 24 contestants.
And one of the fan favorites this season is Loretta Lynn’s granddaughter, Emmy Russell. Not just because she was born into country music royalty, but because she captivates the audience with her vocals alone.
Before she hit the stage, she and Jelly Roll got together to rehearse the song she would perform in front of the panel of judges.
Jelly Roll asked why she picked the song “Beautiful Things” by Benson Boone.
“I related to the lyric, ‘God don’t take away these beautiful things I’ve got.’ I sometimes think that the beautiful things in my life are going to disappear in a second.”
Emmy then says that while she loves this opportunity and living in the moment of the competition show, she knows that in music, you can be at the top one day and the bottom the next. She further opens up to Jelly Roll, noting that she feels a whole different kind of pressure being Lynn’s granddaughter.
And Jelly gave her some advice:
“You have a whole different reason you’re here. Channel that. When you speak from feeling there is something special about it, it’s such a moment. You realize it. It’s a great feeling, man. Just embrace that.”
Russell rearranged the track’s composition to highlight her airy vocals while keeping the belting aspect of the chorus. The rearrangement was the perfect move to fit her voice and style as an artist because the song traditionally would have overpowered her, but during this performance, she sang it as she wrote it herself.
At the end of the performance, the judges gave her a deserving standing ovation, and I am sure her grandmother, Loretta Lynn, did the same from up above. I hope America pushed Emmy through to the next round because she is a delight to watch each week on American Idol.
