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.
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.