“I want to be the next American Idol because I want to be the forerunners for mamas out there who can still raise babies and pursue their dreams,” Harper said.
Hannah Harper; Photo Courtesy of American Idol via ABC
Hannah Harper, a 25-year-old stay-at-home mom, captured the hearts of America on American Idol with her viral audition of the original song, “String Cheese,” inspired by her struggles with postpartum depression, which moved Carrie Underwood to tears and drew comparisons to Dolly Parton and Kacey Musgraves. Returning for Hollywood Week, taking place in Music City this year, Harper delivered a breathtaking cover of a Lee Ann Womack hit, earning praise from the judges and securing a spot in the golden room, bringing her one step closer to the Top 30.
“I want to be the next American Idol because I want to be the forerunners for mamas out there who can still raise babies and pursue their dreams,” Harper said as she took to the stage inside The Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Belmont University.
American Idol then aired a clip of Hannah Harper’s viral audition, which has become one of the most-watched in the show’s history, racking up over 10 million views and reaching hundreds of millions worldwide. Harper performed her original song, “String Cheese,” inspired by her struggles with postpartum depression, moving Carrie Underwood to tears and earning comparisons to Dolly Parton, Kacey Musgraves, and Alison Krauss.
Following her Idol audition, “String Cheese” took on a new life on social media, with many mothers sharing their stories using the song as the soundtrack to their posts, including Lauren Alaina. It also quickly climbed Billboard’s Country Digital Song Sales chart, debuting at No. 14 with over 1,000 units sold. The song also ranked above “Baby Shark” by Pinkfong on the Children’s Music iTunes chart.
“I didn’t see any other dream outside of just raising a house full of kids. My youngest is one, and shortly after he was born, I had postpartum depression and so I was sitting on my couch wallowing and my son kept coming up to me. He said, ‘mom, open my cheese…’ I finally opened his cheese and when I did, I realized that God had put me in that place and that where I was in my house was the biggest ministry that I could ever have,” Harper previously explained.
Reflecting on her Idol audition, Harper admitted, “I was excited that Carrie had an emotional connection to the song because she’s in the same position. She’s a boy mom.”
Donning a homemade white dress (made by one of her friends) and tan cowboy boots, Hannah Harper delivered a goosebumps-inducing cover of “A Little Past Little Rock” by Lee Ann Womack, while her family watched from the sidestage viewing area with tears in their eyes.
Harper’s vocals shone beautifully on the Lee Ann Womack cover, her voice closely mirroring Womack’s distinctive tone. After the first few lyrics of her performance, Luke Bryan broke into a big smile, clearly thrilled and excited by Harper’s immense talent.
Following her performance, Carrie Underwood praised Harper, noting that covering a Womack song isn’t an easy task, but Harper made it look effortless.
“Hannah, you’re one of my favorites in auditions. Lee Ann Womack is not an easy person to sing,” Underwood stated. “It’s like you listen to it and it’s so nice, but you don’t realize how intricate the things that she does with her voice, and I feel like you just nailed that.”
Harper then chatted with Idol host Ryan Seacrest and admitted she flubbed some lyrics during her performance, as nerves might’ve gotten the best of her. However, the judges didn’t seem to notice.
“I got excited. I forgot the words. Didn’t come in on the right spot, but I sure hope I did enough to make it to the next round,” Harper told Seacrest.
As the Idol judges, composed of Lionel Richie, Carrie Underwood and Luke Bryan, reviewed performances to determine who would advance after Hollywood Week, Harper’s fate was revealed following a brief discussion between them.
Bryan said, “She jumbled lyrics and got through it,” while Richie added, “And she handled it and didn’t even bump.”
Ultimately, Hannah Harper secured a spot in the golden room, putting her one step closer to earning a spot in the Top 30. Harper reacted to securing a spot for the next round, stating, “I was scared. I was terrified, I didn’t think I was gonna get through.”
On if she will make it into the Top 30, Harper said, “I’m scared. Everyone’s so crazy talented.”