Loretta Lynn's granddaughter Emmy Russell honors her on 'American Idol': Watch
Emmy Russell honored her grandmother Loretta Lynn with a moving performance on "American Idol" Monday night.
The season 22 contestant sang Lynn's iconic song "Coal Miner's Daughter," a song chosen for her by judge Katy Perry, on the April 29 episode.
Russell's take on the tune was a stripped-down piano version of the country classic.
In a taped package before she took to the stage, Russell said, "I love singing from the heart, and I think this is a perfect song for that. I mean, it's my grandma's song -- can't get much closer to the heart than your own blood."
The 24-year-old said she knows the song "like the back of my hand" and wanted to do this rendition as an ode to her grandmother "like a way of hugging her."
"I need to be proud that I am a granddaughter of Loretta Lynn," she said. "I'm proud to be a coal miner's great-granddaughter."
Russell took to Instagram after the show to say that she "felt like myself tonight."
Lynn, a legend in the country music world, died in October 2022 at the age of 90.
