During Monday night’s (April 22) episode of American Idol, contestants learned their fate after they each performed.
Mentored by Meghan Trainor, each singer chose a song that has gone number one on the Billboard charts. Fan favorite Emmy Russell, who is the granddaughter of Loretta Lynn, chose to sing Selena Gomez’s hit song “Lose You To Love Me,” a vulnerable pop ballad right in Russell’s wheelhouse.
Gomez released the song in October 2019 as the lead single for her 2020 album Rare.
Emmy Russell’s nerves showed during the mentor portion of the show.
While meeting with Trainor, Russell’s nerves showed through as she kept forgetting the lyrics and the melody. Trainor’s calm and welcoming demeanor helped Russell loosen up a bit and find the melody and the words.
Russell’s entire Idol journey has been about her finding her confidence, so it was a beautiful thing to watch her look and sound confident during her performance of “Love You to Love Me.”
What did the judges say about her performance?
Luke Bryan commented on how far out of her comfort zone she is in, but “try to remember to love singing and have fun with it, because you are shining, I promise you.”
Lionel Ritchie told her that the beauty of the show is that the audience doesn’t vote for them based on the rehearsals and to just shake off anything bad that happened during the week and give it her best, which she clearly did!
Katy Perry told her, “I love that rendition, it was like Kacey Musgraves doing Selena Gomez. It was very authentically you. That was one of the best vocal performances you’ve ever given us. I know that you’re a specific kind of singer so I appreciate that you’re pushing yourself. You look great, you sound great. Please, keep conning yourself into that confidence!”
Was this performance enough to send her through to the Top Ten?
Yes! Emmy made it through the elimination on Monday, sending her to the Top Ten. She and the other nine singers will be mentored by Shania Twain for that episode!
Scotty McCreery will also make an appearance to perform his newest single “Slow Dance.”
Watch Emmy perform “Lose You To Love Me” below.