Emmy Russell made a name for herself on American Idol before being sent home. However, she started her musical journey long before auditioning for the show. For instance, she released “Skinny” before her audition aired. She also released her cover of Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things” shortly after the audition aired. To announce the release of her rendition of the song, she teased it on TikTok.
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Russell’s audition aired on February 25. A few days later, on March 1, she released her rendition of “Beautiful Things.” The same day, she took to TikTok to share the idea behind her version of the song. “What if Benson Boone’s song was a country ballad,” she wrote in the caption. In the video, she sings her version of the song while sitting in a car.
Russell also performed “Beautiful Things” during the Top 24 episode of American Idol in April.
Emmy Russell Continues Her Musical Journey with “Redemption”
Yesterday (May 17), Emmy Russell showed the world that her exit from American Idol wasn’t the end of the road for her. The song sees her processing a hard breakup. She co-penned the song with Lauren McLamb and Rob Sewell.
“I wrote ‘Redemption’ because I process life through music and this song is what came out of a painful breakup,” she revealed. “There was a time when I placed all my value in someone else’s hands. But, eventually, I had to realize I was constantly being tossed between ‘I love you’ and ‘I don’t love you,” she added.
[RELATED: Emmy Russell Processes “Painful Breakup” on New Song “Redemption”]
“This song represents my decision to no longer be the person you come back to when it’s convenient,” she explained. “My telling him ‘it’s over,’ I found my redemption in being alone and admitting to myself ‘I don’t deserve this,’ which led me to a door I’d been craving to open.”
She went on to say that she learned an important lesson from the relationship that spawned the song. “I finally realized my worth by looking to God. Then letting the truth that I am loved sink in. Now I know no guy, nor anyone else, can take that away from me. I am loved, and now, that’s my redemption,” she said.
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