Hannah Harper, who first made waves with her original song “String Cheese” during her American Idol audition, has returned to the stage, and this time, she’s taking on Hollywood Week in a big way.
When viewers met Hannah for the first time, she proudly spoke about the realities of motherhood, and her experience with postpartum depression. She explained she didn’t see any other dream for herself outside of raising a home full of kids, and while she has gotten to live that dream, there have been some hard times that have come with that.
One moment in particular with her youngest son inspired her song “String Cheese,” and gave her a new perspective on life that she is now sharing with the world through her time on Idol.
“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’s 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.”
Carrie Underwood was clearly touched by her story, as tears filled her eyes throughout the performance. Hannah admits she was “excited” to see the Idol judge have such an emotional connection to the song as a fellow boy mom. The audition quickly because one of the most viewed clips in Idol history, touching hundreds of millions of people all over the world, including many moms who felt encouraged by her words.
“I want to be the next American Idol because I want to be the forerunner from mamas out there who can still raise babies and pursue their dreams.”
She once again let her tender vocals fill the room with a powerful performance of Lee Ann Womack’s “A Little Past Little Rock,” leaning into the emotion of the song and proving she could hold her own with a country classic. After hearing her sing the first few lines, Idol judge Luke Bryan became visibly filled with excitement. He held a big smile on his face hearing the song choice, and he couldn’t help but join her on a few lines from his seat.
Backstage following her performance, Hannah admitted to the show’s host, Ryan Seacrest that she was feeling the nerves after messing up the lyrics a few times, however the judges were pleased seeing how the Willow Springs, MO native handled the slight hiccups like a pro.
“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.”
Underwood commented, saying “Hannah, you’re one of my favorites in auditions. Lee Ann Womack is not an easy person to sing. 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.”
This week, Hannah is among the many hopeful singers who made their way to Nashville for Idol’s new take on Hollywood Week dubbed, Music City Takeover. As she made her way to the mic with a guitar in hand, she confidently restated her mission in the singing competition.