Hannah Everhart details a moment on American Idol that never made the broadcast.
During an interview with Music Mayhem, the 18-year-old American Idol alumni revealed an on stage moment with country superstar Luke Bryan that didn’t air on Idol.
After admitting she only received on-camera advice from Idol judges Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie, and not much off-camera advice. When asking about off-camera advice, Everhart told us, “No, not off-camera, really, I mean, everything they pretty much saw was it….”
Aside from her audition song which was Johnny Cash’s “Wayfaring Stranger,” a song from Cash’s 2000 album, American III: Solitary Man. Everhart also performed Etta James’ “At Last,” Perry joined in to sing the iconic James’ classic with Everhart. However, that wasn’t the only duet Everhart shared with an Idol judge, the Top 24 Idol finalist was also joined by Bryan for a duet of The Judds’ “Grandpa (Tell Me ‘Bout the Good Old Days),” the second single from The Judds’ album, Rockin’ with the Rhythm.
“Now I did sing a duet with Luke Bryan in the audition room,” Everhart revealed, before sharing additional details of the one-of-a-kind duet, “I sang “Grandpa” by The Judds, but they didn’t put that on TV, so yeah, that was great. I was like, dang, I got to sing with two of ‘em!”
Watch the clip of Everhart opening up about the moment that didn’t air below.
Additionally, Everhart is gearing up to release her cover of Allen Stone’s “Give You Blue.” This cover will be featured on her upcoming covers EP, produced by Idol Season 14 runner up, Clark Beckham.“Clark is a very great Christian guy,” Everhart told Music Mayhem of Beckham. “Like, if you want a nice guy to work with, that is Clark, so I’m just glad that I got to meet him, you know, and that he was the person who helped me with this, because I wouldn’t have wanted anyone else, like truly, and he is a musical genius and you know, we both kinda put our heads together, and I’m not gonna take any of the credit really, because he came up with all of the renditions, pretty much.”
During her audition for Idol, Everhart wow’d the judges with her cover of “The Wayfaring Stranger” by Johnny Cash. After a zoom audition took her to Hollywood to stand in front of the judges, she realized her dream of being an artist could actually turn into a reality.
“Music is what God had planned for me, and so that’s what I do now,” Everhart explained in the interview. “And it’s something that I’ve grown a strong passion for the more that I did American Idol, and I’m just glad that other people believed in me as well.”
Although she’s currently based in Mississippi, Everhart hopes to eventually move to Nashville to pursue her music career, and one day play on stage at the Grand Ole Opry. Until that shining moment comes, she plans to continue to work on her songwriting vocal skills, starting with her upcoming EP. This project consists of a collection of covered songs from her favorite artists, including Miranda Lambert.
“These are a few songs that represent who I am and who I want to be as an artist,” Everhart added.
Performing on live TV can be stressful, which is why this EP is Everhart’s chance to show off her true talent, without all the pressure of being watched by millions of viewers on TV.
Music Mayhem sat down with Everhart to find out more about her upcoming EP, competing on American Idol, finding inspiration within the Country music community, her future goals and so much more. You can watch the full interview below.
