Hannah Harper has been making a name for herself on Season 24 of American Idol, but she’s no stranger to the stage. Long before auditioning for the reality television singoff series, the rising country and bluegrass singer was honing her craft in a much simpler setting — alongside her family and in church pews in Willow Springs, Missouri.
“I grew up doing bluegrass gospel music in churches every single weekend from age nine until I was 16,” Harper said during an interview with Music Mayhem.
That foundation shaped not only her voice, but her heart as a performer. At the time, Harper says she was listening to artists like Dolly Parton and Shania Twain. Those superstar women, in very different ways, left a lasting impression on her.
“I was raised super conservative, and so I knew of Dolly Parton, and we didn’t listen to a bunch of her music, but she was definitely somebody that I was drawn to. So extravagant. It’s so fun. And she’s such a good showman,” Harper said when asked what artists she listened to growing up. “But I was a big Shania Twain fan, like early ‘90s Shania. That was the one tape that we had on, on the regular that my mom let me listen to.”
Though those influences helped shape her artistry, Harper didn’t step into her Idol audition with a cover from one of her heroes. Instead, she chose to perform a deeply personal, self-penned song titled “String Cheese.” The tune, which details her struggles with Postpartum Depression as a mom of three young boys, has since gone viral. It has resonated with mothers far and wide, including fellow Idol alum Lauren Alaina.
Listeners have compared Harper’s tone and delivery to artists such as Dolly Parton, Kacey Musgraves, and even Lee Ann Womack, though the Idol hopeful admits one of those comparisons surprises her.
“I find it funny that everyone compares me to Lee Ann because I wasn’t introduced to Lee Ann Womack until the last five years,” Harper said. “…I didn’t start digging into how she sings and all of that. So people are like, ‘We can tell you’ve studied Lee Ann.’ And I’m like, ‘Crazy thing is, I actually didn’t,’ but I’d say Shania Twain was a huge influence on me and anybody in the early nineties. Jo Dee Messina, the more wholesome side of the nineties country.”
The musical roots she developed in her family band have also helped her navigate the realities of being a working performer. Still, there’s one challenge she admits she hasn’t quite figured out — what to charge for live shows.
“When we were doing it [as a family band,] it definitely wasn’t for the money. We would charge love offerings. So we would go to church, and we would take whatever they would offer,” Harper explained. “I think that that ingrained in me a lot of just gratitude and relying on the Lord and living out, walking out by faith.”
That mindset, while meaningful, can make the business side of music tricky. “I think that when it comes to a career now, I have the hardest time when people call me, and ask, ‘How much do you charge to come sing?’” she noted.
“And I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh. I don’t know. A love offering? Pass the hat?” she laughed. “I don’t know. That’s the hardest part that I’ve had to deal with this far.”
Even so, money isn’t what motivates her. Connection is.
“More than anything, growing up and being raised in that realm of music, it’s more about personal connection rather than being a good showman. So I feel like that’s something that I will carry with me more than anything, just the fact that when you’re in churches, it’s a more comfortable setting. People feel like family. And so when it comes to my live shows, I really want to keep it very intimate with the crowd and get to know people and not just be a, I’m in an arena with 5,000 people, and you’re out there, and I don’t know who you are,” she explained. “I really genuinely want to meet everybody, hear their stories, and get to know them. So that’s something that I feel like is ingrained in me now, being raised in that back home bluegrass genre.”
Though “String Cheese” has already struck a chord with listeners across the country, Harper says if she could write another song right now about the current state of her life, it would center around gratitude.
“I guess it would just be a song of gratitude for appreciating the little moments in life, which that’s pretty much what ‘String Cheese’ is,” she said.
As she continues her journey on American Idol, which is entering into the “Ohana Round” at Disney’s Aulani Resort & Spa in Hawaii this week, Harper says much of the judges’ feedback happens on-camera, simply because of the exhausting filming schedule. Still, their presence alone leaves a lasting impact.
“We’re just cutting up because after the cameras are off, everyone’s just so exhausted. They’ve not really given a ton of advice,” she said. “Carrie’s just really sweet. I relate to her a lot, as just her work ethic is incredible, and she’s a mom also, and she’s worked really hard to have the place that she’s at. So, I mean, her presence alone makes me want to go home and work my butt off. You know what I mean?”
“Just being around all the competition when you get home, it’s like, oh, I need to write. I need to make more videos,” she continued. “So if anything, it makes my work ethic be driven more to be in a setting with those people.”
Follow along with Hannah Harper’s American Idol journey by tuning in every Monday at 8/7c on ABC. Episodes are also available to stream the next day on Hulu.
