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Hannah Harper Wins ‘American Idol’ Season 24 in a Finale Packed With Big Guests
Hannah Harper wins American Idol Season 24 after a star-studded live finale featuring Alicia Keys, Carrie Underwood and more.
Warning: This article contains spoilers for the Season 24 finale of American Idol.
Hannah Harper was crowned the Season 24 winner of American Idol on Monday night (May 11), capping a live three-hour finale on ABC and Disney+ that left Jordan McCullough in second place and Keyla Richardson in third.
The Missouri country singer’s win came after a finale that leaned hard into the spectacle of the show’s live ending. The Top 3 kicked things off with Carrie Underwood’s “The Champion,” then spent the night moving through solo spots and pairings before Harper finally took the title.
One of her biggest moments of the evening came in a duet with Lee Ann Womack on “I Hope You Dance.” Harper then returned to the song that first made her a breakout, performing “String Cheese,” the original track that set off her run on the show. Her coronation moment followed with Chris Tomlin’s “At the Cross (Love Ran Red).”
That original song, “String Cheese,” is also the audition that pushed Harper into viral territory. She wrote it while dealing with postpartum depression after the birth of her youngest child, a detail that gave the performance immediate weight for viewers. Harper, who is from Willow Springs, Missouri, grew up singing bluegrass and gospel with her family band, The Harper Collective, and has pointed to Dolly Parton, Shania Twain and Jo Dee Messina as major influences.
Her hometown visit last week added another layer to the story. Onstage, she was surprised by Jo Dee Messina, whose song Harper had performed earlier in the competition, and Willow Springs officially declared May 6 Hannah Harper Day.
The finale also made room for the kind of guest-packed lineup American Idol loves to turn into a headline. Guest mentor Alicia Keys appeared alongside the top contestants, while Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie and Carrie Underwood each took the stage. Bryan, Richie and Underwood performed Richie’s 1986 hit “Deep River Woman” together, and Underwood also shared a performance with Mötley Crüe.
Elsewhere in the broadcast, the guest list stretched across generations and genres: Brad Paisley, Blues Traveler and Gin Blossoms, Cameron Whitcomb, Clay Aiken, En Vogue, Jason Mraz, Lee Ann Womack, Nelly, Shinedown and Tori Kelly all performed during the night.
Harper had been one of the season’s clearest frontrunners for weeks, and Underwood had been saying as much since the audition round, when she singled Harper out as one of her favorites. American Idol Season 24 airs on ABC and streams on Hulu.
