Hannah Harper Opens Up About Taylor Swift Night, Criticism, and Staying Grounded On Her ‘American Idol’ Journey [Exclusive]

Hannah Harper has captured the hearts of viewers throughout her American Idol journey, earning a spot in the Top 7. But behind the powerful vocals seen on stage each Monday night, she’s faced unexpected challenges along the way. From both support and criticism, she’s embraced growth as an artist while also balancing life as a mom to her three sons.

Sitting down with Country Now before taking the stage for Taylor Swift night, the rising singer/songwriter got honest about finding her lane in the competition. Right out of the gate, Harper became a fan favorite during the audition round, winning over judges and viewers with the raw authenticity of her original song that touched on the realities of postpartum depression, “String Cheese.”

The performance quickly gained traction, earning support from fans and fellow moms like Lauren Alaina, who were deeply moved by her storytelling. Harper admits it felt “very surreal” to see that level of response come from a song she wrote in such a vulnerable moment. She went from thinking no one would ever hear it to millions across the country listening to her personal story.  

“To share it on this platform and then the way people responded to it, it blew my mind and it’s still blowing my mind. It was just one of those things that it just gave me all the affirmations that I needed and knowing that my hard season had a purpose,” she explained.

Following the standout audition, Harper and her fellow Season 24 contestants have continued to be pushed in ways they never expected. The further she gets in the competition, the more eyes are on her, and with that, the feedback surrounding her performances has only intensified.

Many viewers have rallied behind her while plenty of others have used the platform to tear her apart, especially calling attention to her lack of movement on stage. Coming from a bluegrass background, where storytelling takes center stage, Harper admits this adjustment hasn’t come naturally.

“People are not as impressed anymore with the stage presence because they expect me to move around. And knowing my roots, those who do understand, understand…it is painfully uncomfortable for me, but it’s another one of those things that, in the entertainment world after I get out of Idol, it’s not something that I’m going to be wanting to do a whole lot anyways, because I’m more of a storyteller than a performer in that way. Having to be vulnerable in that way, knowing it’s not who I am is the craziest thing ever,” she told Country Now.

Harper further opened up about how it has felt to watch herself back on the show each week and try to understand how she is being viewed. But at the end of the day, she is confident in the fact that she knows how to perform in a way that works best for her, and it doesn’t involve dancing from one end of the stage to the other. Instead, her mission is to find that connection with people by delivering open and honest songs that allow them to feel real emotions.

To this day, Harper continues to listen to some advice that Idol judge Carrie Underwood offered her during Hollywood Week, which was to “post and ghost.” This means she is encouraged to post on social media and then immediately put the device down so that she is not tempted to look at the overwhelming amount of comments and opinions being thrown at her.

“When I first started putting myself out on social media, I wanted to see what everyone had to say and the feedback was not good for me in a lot of ways, but that stuff can get to your head so much, especially when you’re in a vulnerable situation already where you’re doing music that’s not really in your realm and everyone has something to say about how you look, you’re performing, all the things,” she shared honestly. “So after ’90s night, when I did ‘Heads Carolina, Tails California,’ I got burnt real quick and I was like, ‘okay, I got to stay off social media because it will change my entire mindset about everything that I’m doing and my end the end goal.’”

She continued, “Even if you think it doesn’t, it alters your thinking in ways that you may not realize in the moment. So that’s been the best advice is just, nobody else’s opinion matters…it’s one of those things that I’m like, they don’t know who I am and who I want to be and who I’m trying to portray. And so everyone just has something different to say and their idea of me is not true. So knowing that and moving forward and just being proud of myself for what I’m doing and knowing the end goal has really changed my perspective of it all.”

Last Monday night, fans saw Hannah Harper deliver one of her favorite performances of the season with “Almost There” from The Princess and the Frog during Disney night. Tonight, on April 27, she will hit the stage once again for the highly anticipated Taylor Swift night.  While she couldn’t share her song choice, she teased a more stripped-back performance, noting she’ll “definitely” not be moving around and will instead lean into her bluegrass roots.

“Taylor Swift is a storyteller and she’s amazing at it. And I think that her songs, the storyline speaks louder than anything else that she does. Now she’s a performer, but she’s been storytelling since she was 13, 14, writing in a way that just caught people’s attention. And so I chose a song that I could still kind of pull some bluegrass in. So I’m actually playing a guitar for this week and I’m really excited about it because it’s kind of like going back to what I’ve known, but yet still it’s a Taylor theme song. So I think it’ll be fun.”

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Harper continues to ride the excitement and adrenaline of each week, but admits there’s also a growing anticipation to see what will come next beyond the show.

“It feels like the last few weeks of pregnancy at this point. You’re just aching to get there and for it to be for the big arrival, is how it feels for me. Lots of growing pain, for sure,” she admits as the season nears the end.

As the competition heats up, tonight’s episode will feature guest judge Nikki Glaser, with host Ryan Seacrest set to reveal the Top 5. Each contestant will deliver their take on a song from Taylor Swift’s catalog, hoping to earn America’s votes and secure their spot in the next round.

American Idol airs live at 8/7c on ABC or stream it live on Disney+. New episodes can be streamed the next day on Hulu.