Emmy Russell Dazzles With Unexpected Blink 182 Cover On ‘American Idol’

Emmy Russell secured a spot in the American Idol Top 8 following a mentoring session with Shania Twain and a performance of Blink 182’s “All The Small Things.”   

Although Russell is somewhat accustomed to the spotlight due to being the granddaughter of country music icon Loretta Lynn, she confessed that she “freaked out” when she had the chance to meet Shania Twain.

“I’m a huge fan,” Russell told the country hitmaker when introducing herself.  

In a behind-the-scenes interview, the contestant later said, “I love Shania Twain. She’s literally the queen of pop country.” 

Twain admitted it was “very surreal” to meet the granddaughter of one of her musical heroes, pointing out the fact that “There’s no Shania Twain without Loretta Lynn. I just…I love her.”

During their one-on-one mentoring session, Twain encouraged Russell to help relieve her nerves and get rid of excess energy by jumping up and down repeatedly. Russell initially wasn’t sure it would help but quickly realized that she may be jumping before every future performance. 

“It kind of caught me off guard, but I kind of liked it,” she laughed.  

For this round of performances, each of the remaining contestants was challenged to sing a song from the year they were born. Together, Twain and Russell worked through the performance, making tweaks along the way. When it was time to take the stage, Emmy Russell was fully prepared to give this performance everything she had. 

Although singing a Blink 182 hit may have seemed a bit off-brand for Russell, she executed the song perfectly, adding her own flavor to the stripped-down track. Each week, she’s continued to display her ever-growing confidence while performing and this week was no different. Her performance impressed the judges’ panel, earning a standing ovation from Luke Bryan, Katy Perry, and Lionel Richie and roaring applause from the live audience.

Richie was the first to comment on Emmy Russell’s performance and elaborated on how proud he was to see her enjoying her time on stage.

“You know what’s so wonderful is that the whole time you’re singing, I am smiling myself into pain over here in the corner because, and I’ll tell you what it is, you have a real storytelling purity voice. And what I’m saying I listen for every word, I listen for your stories. And more importantly, I saw something on that last performance that I really enjoyed. You were having fun. You are actually relaxed, and I’m so happy for that,” he shared. 

Perry also commented on Russell’s evolving stage presence, telling her, “Yes. Miss Emmy comfortable looks beautiful on you.” 

She continued, “You really are kind of growing into this. This is actually working for you. And that song was a great, and you incorporated those yodels, just like Shania requested. They sounded great. You sounded the most solid through and through from A to Z that I’ve ever heard you. And you like worked the stage. Yes, you went back to your mark, but you worked the stage and then you went back to your mark.” 

Bryan was also impressed by her performance and noted that her song selection caught him a bit off guard.

“If you would’ve told me a month and a half ago, one of your best vocals would be a Blink 182 song. I was like… but that’s what’s so fun about this show because I think it puts you in a different mindset. And like I said when Katie says that about your vocals, you just kind of got a little more free with it for the first time and it was still you. It was still you doing a Blink 182 song. But it was great and what’s why we love you, that’s why America loves you.”  

Emmy Russell earned enough fan votes to secure a spot in the Top 8. She will return to the American Idol stage on Monday evening for the judge’s song contest. In this challenge, each of the Top 8 contestants performs one of three songs selected anonymously by one of the judges.