American Idol hopeful Hannah Harper’s audition brought tears to the eyes of many viewers, including country star Lauren Alaina.
If you’re a devoted American Idol fan, you likely caught Hannah Harper’s very emotional audition that aired last week.
A little background on the 25-year-old singer: she’s been singing gospel bluegrass for most of her life, performing with her family as they traveled across the country.
She’s also a stay-at-home mom to three young boys, which is what motivated her to audition for the singing competition. For Hannah, it was the right time to start a solo music career and pursue performing full-time.
For her audition, Hannah performed an original song titled “String Cheese.” At first, the name might make you think she was about to perform a lighthearted, fun song. But she quickly made it clear that wasn’t the case.
Hannah actually wrote the song after struggling with postpartum depression following the birth of her third child.
The vulnerable song brought tears to judge Carrie Underwood’s eyes. Carrie even gave her the wonderful compliment of saying that she “might be my favorite person that’s walked through those doors.”
When it was time to vote, all three judges gave Hannah a “yes,” sending her straight to Hollywood.

Lauren Alaina Shares Her Tearful Reaction To Hearing “String Cheese” For The First Time
Any mom who’s faced similar struggles can relate to Hannah’s song, and country star Lauren Alaina shared just how hard the lyrics actually hit.
A few days after Hannah’s audition, Lauren shared a video on social media showing her reaction to hearing “String Cheese” for the first time.
In the clip, she’s holding her six-month-old daughter, Beni Doll, with tears streaming down her face. On top of the video, Lauren wrote, “actual footage of me hearing string cheese for the first time while holding my string cheese.”
In the caption, she went on to praise Hannah for writing a song dedicated to all the women out there who’ve dealt with postpartum depression.
“8 months postpartum hearing this song for the first time has me in a puddle,” Lauren said. “@hannahharper thank you for writing this song for us mommas. I can’t wait to watch your journey. I’m rooting for you every step of the way 🤍”
Fans completely agreed with Lauren’s reaction. Many left comments saying they were also an emotional wreck when they initially heard the song.
“This is beautiful… I have chills… ❤️😢,” one fan wrote.
“This one got me 😭,” said another.
“This song has all us mamas a mess. So so true. Every single word 😢🥰,” someone else said.
Watch Lauren Alaina’s reaction to Hannah Harper’s song “String Cheese” in the video below.