Hannah Harper’s “String Cheese” Performance Slowly Draws an Emotional Reaction From Lauren Alaina

Lauren Alaina broke down in tears after hearing American Idol contestant Hannah Harper’s audition song, “String Cheese,” inspired by Harper’s journey through motherhood and struggles with postpartum depression.

The country superstar and American Idol Season 10 finalist took to social media to share her raw reaction with fans after listening to the song for the first time while holding her newborn daughter, Beni Doll Arnold, on her lap.

She captioned the clip, “8 months postpartum, hearing this song for the first time has me in a puddle. Hannah Harper, thank you for writing this song for us mommas. I can’t wait to watch your journey. I’m rooting for you every step of the way. ”

The video, soundtracked by “String Cheese,” showed Alaina visibly overcome with emotion, tears streaming down her cheeks as she told the person behind the camera to stop filming while embracing her 8-month-old daughter. “Actual footage of me hearing ‘String Cheese’ for the first time while holding my string cheese,” Alaina wrote in an overlay on the clip, referencing her daughter.

Lauren Alaina’s reaction video came just a few days after Hannah Harper brought Carrie Underwood to tears with the relatable track during her American Idol audition. Alaina welcomed her first child with husband Cam Arnold in June of 2025, and since then her mom, Kristy Suddeth, has been by her side helping her through postpartum.

Hannah Harper, a stay-at-home mother of three young boys, grew up in a very unconventional musical family, singing bluegrass and Christian music on the road, traveling coast to coast from 2009 to 2016. She met and married her husband, Devon, in 2016, and a few months later they discovered they were expecting their first child. Hannah and Devon quickly grew their family and now have three young boys.

She was motivated to audition for American Idol in honor of her three children. “Then one turned to three really fast. With three boys comes a lot of chaos and a lot of fun. It’s just hectic at all times,” she previously explained. “I’m trying out for the show just because I want the opportunity to give the boys the same life that I had growing up in a bigger way, if possible, to be able to sustain my family and do music full time.”

She was motivated to audition for American Idol in honor of her three children. “Then one turned to three really fast. With three boys comes a lot of chaos and a lot of fun. It’s just hectic at all times,” she previously explained. “I’m trying out for the show just because I want the opportunity to give the boys the same life that I had growing up in a bigger way, if possible, to be able to sustain my family and do music full time.”