American Idol contestant Hannah Harper has proven to be an unstoppable force throughout this year’s season 24 competition, continuously impressing both the judging panel and viewers at home.
The 25-year-old “String Cheese” singing mother took a bold risk this week, stepping away from her bluegrass roots to perform a much more rocking rendition of Bethel Music & Molly Skaggs’ “Ain’t No Grave.” While Harper’s version aligned with the 2019 Bethel church performance, the worship song has seen many iterations, including Johnny Cash’s 2010 recording, which was pre-recorded before his death in September 2003 and released seven years later on his posthumous album, American VI: Ain’t No Grave.
Backed by the stunning water view of Disney’s Aulani Resort in Ko Olina, Hawaii, Harper chose to leave her emotional support guitar behind once more for this performance, thanks to the advice from judge Luke Bryan. Last ‘Ohana,’ round he offered the critique, “I would’ve loved to see you throw your hands up there and just let it out. Get in the habit of opening up.” At which Harper set out with the goal to break out from the bluegrass standard mold of standing in one spot with her guitar and feel more comfortable in her body.
Leading up to the performance, Harper was guided with advice from coaches Brad Paisley and Keke Palmer, as well as support from her three young boys and husband, who have been along for the ride on this heavy travel journey.
With her toddler son on her hip, the Missouri mother proceeded to absolutely smash her practice performance. Both Paisley and Palmer noted the helpful tip to look for her family in the audience to emulate this comforting feeling during her real performance.
Leading into her worship session during the night, she admirably noted the most important part of the whole Idol process in her eyes, saying, “I hope that I’m showing my boys that no matter how old they are, be open to learning and to just be resilient.” Showing off her faith through the booming praise song, Harper once again wowed with her sweet vocals, adding in some growling notes that had both Palmer and Underwood up on their feet, clapping along.
Raising her arms and moving around the stage confidently, she also definitely took the judges’ notes to heart, showing an admirable coachability. Following her performance, all judges relayed the crowd’s high energy reaction with supportive comments such as Bryan noting that the “resurrection rock” performance was an easy on the ears listening experience. “Finally, we see you get a little more power behind that voice. So you’re showing me you’re ready to branch out and grow. Definitely my favorite performance I’ve seen you do.”
Reminiscing on her own journey from winning season 4 to now being a chart-topping leading lady in country music, Underwood extended her appreciation, saying, “Great song choice. Your voice gave me chills the entire time. We got a glimpse of a fire that is in you that I feel like the more you go through this whole process, I hope to see more of.” She then added that Harper’s over-cautious analysis of herself on stage was something Underwood also dealt with when performing on Idol, “You remind me a lot of myself when I was on the show.”
Last night’s Monday, March 17 episode was just the start of weeding out the Top 20 to the Top 14. Half of the contestants performed throughout the night, with voting now opened up to fans through social media, texting, and online options. Next week, the remaining 10 aspiring singers will take the stage, with the final results being revealed in two weeks on Idol’s Monday, March 30 episode.