Emmy Russell Says AMERICAN IDOL Elimination ‘Was God’s Plan’
By Movieguide® Contributor
Emmy Russell says her recent AMERICAN IDOL elimination is all part of “God’s plan.”
“I’m just really feeling grateful,” Russell, the granddaughter of country legend Loretta Lynn, said in an Instagram video. “I didn’t make Top 3, but…that was God’s plan. That was funny because before I got eliminated, I think God told me, he was like, ‘Emmy, you’re not gonna be chosen by America, but I chose you.’”
She continued, “There was no sense of ‘Why wasn’t I chosen?’ I know I’m chosen. It’s like whenever a boy is like, ‘I don’t wanna go out with you anymore.’ And you’re, like, ‘OK. But I know I’m loved.’”
Russell explained that appearing on AMERICAN IDOL was, for her, so “you can be yourself and be successful.”
She also compared her journey on the show to “The Climb,” a song by Miley Cyrus that she sang on the show.
“The climb is Abraham’s Promised Land. The promise is a part of the climb; the promise is the climb with God,” Russell explained.
Russell already has plans to continue her music career following her AMERICAN IDOL elimination, announcing her new single “Redemption.”
“I was just processing my life and a breakup and I was just like, ‘I’m tired of being in between I love you and I don’t,’ and just my decision to be like, ‘I’m going to find my redemption being alone. What does God think about me? I am loved,’” she told PEOPLE. “And then letting that sink in and letting him go and being like, ‘It’s too late for redemption. But I found my redemption being alone.’”
Russell has previously spoken about carrying on her grandmother’s musical legacy and what Lynn would think of her musical career.
“She’d be just like, ‘About time, honey,’” Russell shared. “That’s all I hear her saying. ‘About time, honey. You have it in you.’ She used to always tell me — and I say this a lot — ‘God doesn’t give a plumber tools not to use.’ And so it’s like, if God gives you a gift, don’t just throw it away.”
Movieguide® previously reported on Russell’s relationship with her grandmother:
Russell often talks about the special connection she had with Lynn, telling Southern Living’s “Biscuits & Jam” podcast that her grandmother “passed down her guitar to me when I was 15 at the Ryman Auditorium.”
“She said ‘You’re the one that can do it.’ She always thought I had this spark about me ever since I was a little kid,” she continued. “She felt she needed to give me the guitar as the torch in a way.”
Russell kicked off her musical career in 2023 with a performance at the Grand Ole Opry of her original song, “Memaw’s Guitar.”
“It’s pretty cool to start your career by thanking the person, my grandma and honoring her by this being my first time alone with a guitar since her passing,” she wrote in an Instagram post about the event. “I used to run from my family heritage and wanna make my own path. I feel a deep conviction to thank, accept, and celebrate her, cause she believed in me from the start before anyone did. Not ashamed anymore. She was never ashamed of me…I’m a granddaughter, and I’m Emmy…it’s all apart of me!”