Scotty McCreery and Emmy Russell both pursued their dreams on American Idol, but they also share a real-life connection as well. It’s all thanks to Russell’s grandmother Loretta Lynn.

Lynn was country music royalty and casts a shadow a mile long, but she passed away in 2022. Recently, McCreery joined the Grand Ole Opry. He revealed that he inherited her mailbox. As a huge fan of the late singer, it was a big deal for McCreery. The singer also revealed he named his Ford F-150 after the singer. He received the truck ironically after winning American Idol. It’s something that he still drives to this day.

“I have been assigned mailbox 148 and that was Loretta Lynn’s former mailbox,” McCreery revealed. “Her music has meant the world to me growing up, and I even named my truck after Loretta.”

Both McCreery and Russell share a special connection thanks to their involvement in the show and thanks to Lynn’s contributions to the industry. McCreery opened up about what it feels like to inherit her old mailbox. It’s an honor that he’s excited about. “It’s pretty cool to share that little piece of history with one of the country icons,” he added.

Emmy Russell and Scotty McCreery

Meanwhile, Russell is trying to carve out her own name in music. The singer first wowed audiences by singing an original song “Skinny.” It was inspired by her own personal battles with an eating disorder. Since then, Russell has continued to impress audiences every week.

She told People, “Whenever I wrote ‘Skinny,’ I felt a weight of responsibility. I don’t need to go back to this. I know it’s bad for me. And so the more that I sing it, it’s almost like the more that I’m delivering myself as I’m singing it and I’m like, ‘Oh, OK. Now I got that feeling out. Now I am above it,'” she said, adding that it’s about “finding a creative outlet for all your pain and beauty.”

Meanwhile, Russell also hopes to create a special connection with audiences. She hopes that her music lands with listeners.”I just want to keep on creating truthful art. I just want to keep on writing, and whether that’s singing the song or singing it and writing for other people, I want to do this. This American Idol experience has solidified, ‘Oh no, I want to do this for the rest of my life,'” she said.