American Idol judge Luke Bryan promises that he won't take it easy on Emmy Russell just because she's Loretta Lynn's granddaughter. There's always the danger of nepotism when it comes to relatives of famous icons, and Lynn casted a shadow in country music a mile long.
Speaking with Taste of Country, Bryan said that Russell would have to succeed or fail by her own merits. He said, "At the end of the day, we have to be honest, because America's watching."
For Bryan, it's important to only put through people who are worthy to make it to the live rounds. He wants to avoid people costing on fame and name alone. He said, "I think if we start sending people through just because they have a connection with any form of music or if there's somebody famous — if we start sending people through that don't seem like they're worthy of it, I think that America will call us out on that."
"They gotta be talented," Bryan continued "They gotta have the goods, and obviously Emmy's got the goods."
Luke Bryan Talks Loretta Lynn's Granddaughter
As Bryan pointed out, Russell has so far impressed both judges and fans alike. She survived a brutal Hollywood week culling to make it to the Top 24. However, Bryan wasn't all flowery. He said so far that Russell has had plenty of great performances but also showed times where she didn't meet the occasion. Still, she's showed a lot of promise as a contestant.
"To be able to say that your grandmother is Loretta Lynn, that certainly gets the room's attention," he shared.
Previously, Russell talked about making a name for herself and her hopes of winning American Idol. She said, "I sometimes wake up in the morning and I'm just crying because of how grateful I am. The fact that the audition did translate to the crowd is powerful for me. I wasn't trying to be anything — I was just myself, and so for that, I'm really grateful. I didn't try and create a character like I used to. It was just like, "Here I am."
She also said Lynn would have been proud of her.
"I think that she would just be like, 'Thank you, honey. If you're going to use your gifts, I'm happy. Please use them.' She was always really mad at me. I was a missionary for five, six years, and every time I'd come back from Brazil, she was like, 'When are you going to come back and do what you're made to do?'"
