Loretta Lynne's Granddaughter Auditions for American Idol!

How are you? Hi. This is a dream. Good. Yeah. Tell us who you are. My name is Emi Russell. We have to turn you up some more there, whoa. Emily Russell? Emi, Emi Russell. Emi, Emi. And where are you from? I'm from Nashville, Tennessee. So tell us about yourself. Yeah, I'm growing up. Other than being quiet. Oh, well, growing up, I have sang music my entire life. So I just love writing. I'm 24 years old. OK. And yeah, songwriter. I love music. Where do you sing? I don't really sing out as much anymore. But growing up, I sang on the road with my grandma as a country singer. So I kind of grew up like singing. Who was your grandma? Loretta Lynn. Oh, well. Yeah, grandma is what? Oh, wow. Yeah. So right now, we're at Loretta Lynn's ranch. And my family grew up here. My mom grew up here. So this is my Meemaw's house. I'll show you around. You can see her little slippers. People from all over the world come here. And everything that people walk into is literally like her bedroom, her bathroom, her kitchen, her writing room. She's one of the biggest country music singers of all time. But to me, she's just my grandma and growing up on the bus. And all that was very normal to me. That's so cool. Isn't that interesting? Yeah. I think there's a reason why I think I am a little timid. And I think it is because I want to own. My voice. And I want to own it. I understand. But that's why I want to challenge myself and come out here and really step in and be like, OK, come on, Emi. Well, Emi, grandma was a great singer. But she had her own style. She did. If you got your own style, then you got your own lane. Yeah. Well, what are you going to sing for us today, then? I wrote a song called Skinny. It's about eating disorder. OK, go ahead. I hope you like it. Why do you think she was so nervous going into this? Because she just wanted to do this honestly. This is who I am. And this is what I do. And this is my heart. I think that when you come from a musical family, the shadow is so big. How do I fill those shoes? Well, the deal is, you don't. You make your own shadow. Haven't eaten in days. God, I hate how you made me. So scared to confess. Been so hard to undress lately. These oversized t-shirts don't work like they used to. It's just what I'm used to. Haven't eaten in days. God, I hate how you made me. So I took a trip around the world to hold the hands of orphaned girls. Saw the war, felt the pain, and miracles in His name. But I just want to be, I just want to be skinny. Oh, gosh. Emmy, you're an A-plus songwriter. Thank you. So is your grandma. You got the gift. Thank you. I don't think you need to compare yourself to what grandma was. You're totally different. You shouldn't give yourself all that pressure. I think you came in like a mouse. OK. A baby mouse. Yeah, a baby mouse. What's your name? Emmy Russell. I can't hear you. Emmy Russell. And I'm from? Nashville, Tennessee. I still can't hear you. My name is Emmy Russell, and I'm 24. I'm from Nashville, Tennessee. That's who you are. There you go. Right there. Yeah. My dear, you have promise, and I like your promise. Each one of us is trying to battle something that we're trying to overcome. In your case, you have big shoes. Now, if I can just get you to put those shoes back in the closet, that's not your size. We just got to lift you up and get you more confident, and you just need to own it. Yeah. Emmy, I'm a yes. Wow, OK. Emmy, it's a yes. I believe in you. OK, what is it? My name is Emmy. Gosh, my name is Emmy, and I'm 24 years old, and I'm from Nashville, Tennessee. And you are going to? Hollywood. I'm so excited. I'm giving you a yes to it. Thank you. I'm grateful. I was thinking about my grandma, but I was also like, Emmy, she's with you. Now it's your turn. I think I'm more like her now than I was whenever I was trying to be like her.