After three weeks at Disney’s Aulani Resort for the Hollywood rounds, American Idol returned this week with a theme that perfectly suited one of the competition’s leading voices, Hannah Harper.
The show hosted its second annual “Songs of Faith” theme night, where the Top 14 contestants were tasked with singing some of their favorite worship songs. Harper, who’s stolen the hearts of America with her sweet melodic vocals and inspiring tale as a mother of three chasing her dreams, is also no stranger to expressing her love for the Lord. Just last week, she dominated the stage with a fiery performance of Bethel Music’s “Ain’t No Grave.”
This time around, for her pre-Easter show, the 25-year-old Missouri native led the Idol congregation with a standout performance of Chris Tomlin’s 2014 track, “At The Cross (Love Ran Red).” Harper continues to prove herself to be one of the front-runners of this performance, with her consistently gorgeous vocals shining once more on this contemporary Christian track.
Supporting her in the audience was her husband, alongside her three young boys, praising along to her rendition. The judges continue to be supportive of Harper’s journey on the show, marking her as one of their reigning favorites, especially Carrie Underwood, who previously noted seeing her young 2005 contestant self in Harper and was drawn to tears following her initial audition with her original, “String Cheese.”
Giving the aspiring singer a standing ovation following the performance, Underwood expressed her admiration once more, saying, “From the beginning, you’ve been one of my absolute favorites. I loved your version of that. I could feel your heart in it, and I was right there with ya.” Along with Luke Bryan affirming her performance as a standout, noting it as “perfection.”
Lionel Richie also piped in, applauding Harper, “That was with such a purity that it was fantastic,” while also noting that as the competition heats up, “Give it more of everything you have.”
Wiping tears from her eyes, following this highly emotional performance, Seacrest revealed that this song choice is actually what the Harper family band closes their shows out with, and to perform it at this caliber was a new gracious feat for her. Viewers continue to echo Harper as a surefire advancement (and potential winner) in this competition, with many supporting her in the comment section of the official Idol TikTok clip:
If the internets well received reaction to Harper’s performance is any indication of the voting results, she’s bound to make it to the Top 12 (and much further). Unfortunately, fans will have to wait another week for the final results of who will be cut to be announced next Monday, April 6, on ABC. Host Ryan Seacrest announced at the end of last night’s show that, in an unprecedented manner, they would be postponing the results in order to make sure they’re properly accounting for every vote as they continue to experiment with their new social media voting methods.