Former American Idol Star Emmy Russell Reveals She Was ‘So Mad’ When Judges Had Her Sing Grandma Loretta Lynn’s Song

American Idol contestant Emmy Russell performed a moving tribute to her late grandmother Loretta Lynn when she sang her signature hit “Coal Miner’s Daughter” on the competition series last spring — but if it was up to Russell, she would’ve left the track alone.

The singer, 26, opened up about her performance of Lynn’s 1970 tune in a new interview, and revealed she was actually “so mad” when judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie picked the song for her to sing last April.

“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,’” Russell said on The Thrivalist Podcast with Jamie George. “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.’”

Russell’s lineup of song choices also included “Here You Come Again” by Dolly Parton and “Suddenly I See” by KT Tunstall.

On the podcast, she said that she felt singing “Coal Miner’s Daughter” “was just going to add to” claims of nepotism due to Lynn’s status as a country legend (The star died in October 2022 at age 80).

“It was weird because I still felt that still small voice say, ‘I need you to stay, and I need you to show up,’” she recalled. “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 added that her vision for the performance was inspired by the Hunger Games, and she repeatedly reminded herself that she was protagonist Katniss Everdeen.

Russell ultimately performed a moving rendition of the song on the piano, and made it through that round into the Top 7. She finished in the Top 5, and Abi Carter went on to win season 22.

At the time, Russell said on the show that seeing Lynn’s song up on her list of options made her sad, as she was still grieving her loss.

“When I saw the song choice, there was immense sadness whenever I saw it because she just passed away very recently. I mean, it’s my grandma’s song,” she said. “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.”

In an interview with PEOPLE after the performance, Russell said she’d often “run away” from her family, and “just not want to be a part of it.”

“I think this was the first time that I said, ‘I’m proud. I’m proud to be in this family ’cause with the family comes a blessing, but with it comes a curse,” she said. “I think just closing my eyes and telling her, ‘I’m proud of you.’ I did that in rehearsal. I was like, ‘I’m proud of you.’ I want people to feel proud of their story, where they’ve come from, and I hope that that song made them feel like, ‘Oh, I can be proud of where I come from.’ I’m just really grateful.”

Since leaving Idol, Russell welcomed her first child, a daughter, in late January with partner Tyler Ward. She suffered complications while giving birth, and needed a blood transfusion after losing 1.6 liters of blood.