Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Hannah Harper reacts to being announced the winner of American Idol. (ABC Photo)

Hannah Harper didn’t announce her audition for American Idol Season 24 until early January, weeks and weeks after most contestants.

And she did so in the most humble fashion. Here’s what she wrote:

“Last year around this time, I was bathing the idea of pursuing a solo career in country music in prayer. I didn’t want to tread on ground that wasn’t appointed for my feet.

“And boy, let me tell you … this is ground I never imagined myself standing on — but when He opened the door, I ran through it and I can’t wait to see where this journey leads.”

Monday night, the American Idol portion of the journey ended with a confetti shower after the 25-year-old mother of three was named the winner of Season 24.

And it all seemed inevitable since the night in early February when Hannah’s American Idol audition aired.

She sang a wonderful original named “String Cheese,” a song about the rewards and challenges of motherhood. A song that brought tears to the eyes of Idol judge Carrie Underwood.

Presto, Hannah Harper became the Season 24 favorite, a status she never relinquished.

See also …
Song by song grades for the Top 3
Hannah’s winning night in photos

In fact, it would have been a shock if she hadn’t won.

Consider: Hannah now has 948,000 followers on Facebook. That compares to 152,000 for Keyla Richardson and 50,000 for Jordan McCullough, the other finalists.

Consider: Hannah has 410,000 followers on Instagram. That compares to 113,000 for Keyla and 52,000 for Jordan.

Consider: Hannah has 479,000 followers on TikTok. That compares to 35,0000 for Keyla and nearly 27,000 for Jordan.

Consider: Based on American Idol Facebook streams, Hannah scored the most popular performance on Idol every week since fan voting started. Most weeks, it wasn’t even close.

And “String Cheese,” the song that started it all, has now surpassed 1.5 million streams on Spotify.

Clearly, Hannah struck a chord with American Idol fans.

A day after Mother’s Day, she became only the second mother to win Idol. (The first was Fantasia way back in Season 3.)

And while the pursuit of a solo career might be new for Hannah, music definitely is not.

She began traveling with her family’s gospel bluegrass band when she was just 9 years old. Beginning in 2009, the Harper Family Band spent seven years living in their tour bus as they traveled the nation. It was an unconventional upbringing Hannah told Idol, “I literally wouldn’t change for anything in the world.”

Her husband, mother and father were on hand for Monday’s Idol finale. Her three sons were watching, and sent a good luck message via video that nearly had Hannah in tears as she scolded Ryan Seacrest, reminding him she still had to sing.

When she sang, it was a reprise of “String Cheese,” the great original song that started it all.

Minutes later, Hannah Harper became the Season 24 American Idol.

Hannah Harper answers a question from Ryan Seacrest Monday night on the American Idol finale (ABC Photo)