I think Emmy will make it into the Top 5. I'll tell my theory later, if she makes it.
I said I'd tell my theory if Emmy makes it to the Top 5 and she has. Meanwhile other contestants who have so much better, stronger voices and personalities have gone home. Especially other females. It kind of supports my theory of who may be voting for her and why.
It actually starts out with Beyoncé and her latest country/western song. Beyoncé talked about the impetus for her newest album. She said 5 years ago she was doing the CMA Awards with the Dixie Chicks, singing with them and they made her feel "Not welcome." She didn't think it was because she mostly does pop/R&B/music. She thinks it was because she's black.
Since that event, she's done her homework and research. Blacks have been a part of the history of "country" music, especially southern and western and cowboy music. An African instrument, the akonting, was the inspiration for one of the earliest American gourd banjos. Beyoncé's new album is titled, "
COWBOY Carter," to make clear her music has those inspirations and because she hails from Houston TX. Her album isn't "Grand Ole' Opry" Nashville country music.
Yet, while her album is climbing the country music charts, there is a contingent who clearly don't think and feel Beyoncé is "Grand Ole' Opry" country music, nor should she represent them.
Actor/singer John Schneider, who has 9 studio country albums and four #1 country singles, was very vocal about his feelings when songs from her new album came out, the first one, Texas Hold 'Em, is very cowboy/western. He compared Beyoncé to, "a dog at a dog walk park making it's mark. Every dog has to pee on every tree to mark its territory," and said that's what she's doing. But, that she's not
really country.
He's probably not the only one who thinks that way. They probably want to "re-mark" their country music territory against "those coming in," and a great way to do that would be with the granddaughter of a "Grand Ole' Opry" country music, (white) legend, very coincidentally, (maybe not,) right now on American Idol - and has made it to the Top 5.
As they continue to vote for her, if they get her to win Idol, even better. But Top 5 is great, especially if she releases her own album now. Doesn't matter if she's kind of lackluster. They'll help push a single or the album to #1 and take back the country music charts from Beyoncé and re-establish what
real country music is really about.
And Idol is helping out. If she releases an album that does well, that helps Idol too. Mutual benefit for both. When Idol had her sing Coal Miner's Daughter, they emphasised that Emmy Russel is not only the granddaugher of country legend, Loretta Lynn, she is the
great-granddaughter of a coal miner. She couldn't have a better legacy than that. In the weeks since, they have been saying not only is she stepping out of the shadow of her "Memaw" but she's now carving out her own identity (and brand) for her album.
