Emmy Russell, the granddaughter of the legendary Loretta Lynn, recently made waves with her appearance on American Idol.
The 25-year-old has been pursuing a solo career in recent years, but took things a step further when she decided to audition for American Idol in February.
For her audition, Emmy decided not to wear any makeup to look as “real as possible.” She sang “Skinny,” an original song she wrote about her battle with an “out of control” eating disorder.
Her performance completely won over the judges, and all three agreed to send Emmy to the next round in Hollywood.
Watch Emmy Russell’s Idol audition below.
RELATED: Emmy Russell Gives Emotional Tribute To Grandmother Loretta Lynn On “Idol”
The Story Behind “Skinny”
Emmy spoke to PEOPLE about the personal struggles behind her music. She talked openly about her eating disorder battle and how it inspired her emotional song “Skinny.” She said that her struggles initially surfaced in her teenage years, but seemed manageable until she reached her early twenties.
“I struggled a lot with physical beauty image pressures and social media. I kind of grew up in the spotlight and so I was always very image-conscious,” she revealed.
Emmy also compared her music to “beauty from ashes” and because of the pain, she is able to make something out of it.
“When I wrote ‘Skinny,’ I felt a weight of responsibility [and thought], ‘I don’t need to go back to this. I know it’s bad for me.’ And so the more that I sing it, it’s almost like the more that I’m delivering myself, and I’m like, ‘Oh, okay. Now I got that feeling out. Now I am above it.'”
The Song Emmy Almost Auditioned With
Emmy recently revealed an interesting behind-the-scenes detail about her song choice for her Idol audition. Although Emmy said she is “so glad” she auditioned with “Skinny,” she almost sang a different song. Sharing a video to her social media, Emmy gave viewers a taste of the song she thought she would audition with. Emmy wrote in her caption:
“Morning/ afternoon guys. So glad I sang ‘Skinny’ on ‘American Idol,’ would not change it, but I used to play this song in my car and just cry…have a good day!!!”
That song is “Rescue” by Lauren Daigle.
Watch Emmy Russell’s beautiful rendition of “Rescue” below!