Hannah Harper Talks Her Cheesy Viral ‘String Cheese’ Song and ‘American Idol’ Win (Exclusive)

When Hannah Harper auditioned for American Idol with her heartfelt original song, “String Cheese,” she had no idea of the worldwide impact it would have. She also didn’t know it would ultimately result in a cheesy partnership with Sargento.

After her audition went viral on social media, Harper received an outpouring of love from women who were able to relate to her emotional song, which she penned in the height of her postpartum depression. She also received a sweet message from the Sargento family that eventually blossomed into a relationship. 

“Sargento heard the song, they reached out to me and asked for my address because they wanted to send me a box of goodies,” Harper shared exclusively with Woman’s World. “It had a handwritten letter from one of the employees, and the fact that somebody from this big business took the time to write such an intimate card for me, it made my day.” 

Now that she’s won Season 24 of American Idol, Harper and Sargento are taking their relationship to the next level. She chatted with Woman’s World about her viral song, life post-Idol and what it’s been like to team up with Sargento. 

Woman’s World: Why did Sargento feel like the right fit for you? 

Hannah Harper: Obviously, I have a song about cheese; the whole world knows that now. I auditioned with “String Cheese” on American Idol, and I think that’s when things started taking off. [Sargento] sent cheese to my hotel in L.A. almost weekly so that I wasn’t without during the competition. I think everyone has seen me talk about my need for a tour bus and how important that was, so I knew either way I was gonna have to be buying one, and I reached out and was, like, “Hey, would you guys want to partner up and have a giant string cheese bus?” And they agreed.

The bus is being wrapped currently. I’ve seen little snippets of what it looks like—their name is on all sides, and it’s so beautiful with some really nice patchwork design on it. But more than anything, it means the most to me to be partnered up with a massive global company that also is a family-owned business. I’ve gotten to know the Sargento family, and now they’re my family, so I’m super excited for this partnership.

WW: “String Cheese” is certainly an emotional song, even for those who haven’t experienced the same things you have, but did you ever think your words would stir up so many emotions for listeners?

Hannah Harper: No, not at all. I wrote it during my prime postpartum season, and it’s my testimony of coming out of that and my realization that parenthood is so important. You only get this much time with your babies. I wanted “String Cheese” to be a reminder for moms that life is so short, but it’s also hard where they’re at. A lot of times, moms get lost in the mix and don’t feel seen, so I wrote what I was feeling at that moment, and I was just going to share it with my friends and family, but Idol gave me the opportunity to share it with millions of people across the world. That was incredible and I am still so thankful for that opportunity. 

Hearing stories from moms and people raising kids and how their season of life was so similar to what I was going through, it made me realize that the hard seasons almost always come around. At the time, I was, like, ‘Why is this happening to me? I don’t know what I did to deserve this kind of thing.’ Now, looking back, I’m so thankful that I walked that path and was able to talk about it and relate to so many people. It was more than worth it to go through it and hear that other women felt like that song pulled them out of their pit… it was all the affirmation that I needed to understand the hardship.

WW: Had you planned on sharing this song with the world when you first wrote it?

Hannah Harper: Not really. I was making TikToks at my house, cleaning my kitchen and I was a stay-at-home mom, so I wasn’t pursuing anything fully. Then I was like, I’m gonna write this song because this is what God has on my heart right now. So I went ahead and shared it on all my platforms, and it got a lot of traction on Facebook more than anything and TikTok, but it didn’t get as big until American Idol, and so I just assumed it would be for me and my family. I never expected it to be presented through a nationwide outlet. It was wild. I really thought when I auditioned that I was going to have the opportunity to sing my song, and then go home. I didn’t think that it would continue on after that very first audition,

WW: You previously mentioned that you had another song prepared for your audition and that “String Cheese” wasn’t what you expected to sing. What was the other song and why did you decide on this?

Hannah Harper: There’s a lot of steps you have to get to before you finally meet the judges. Everyone had said that the judges don’t like to hear original songs and to have something else. So I had two songs equally prepared because I thought I would sing my original, but if they ask for something else and that’s the one that gets aired, then it needs to be prepared. So I sang “String Cheese” and bawled through the whole thing, and I was really hoping that they would give me the second chance to sing the other song, but they didn’t. I thought, ‘Oh boy, this is gonna be aired, and it’s gonna be rough.’ I still listen to it and you hate to hear your own voice, especially when you’re emotional. But there’s nothing I would change about it because it touched so many people’s hearts, and that was the whole goal and mission behind it. So I was fine with being vulnerable if it meant that someone else could connect with me in that way.

WW: What was the other song that you had prepared?

Hannah Harper: It was a Jake Worthington song. I can’t remember what the name of the song was, but I was so prepared to sing it and I wanted to so badly because I knew I wouldn’t cry through that one.

WW: What was that like to see your lyrics and your music everywhere after the audition?

Hannah Harper: It was a lot. I was in a Zoom with Idol when my clip got posted and my phone was blowing up, but I hadn’t seen it yet. My heart was in my stomach. I was scared to watch it. I have secondhand embarrassment, but I was so thankful for how they portrayed the moment. They [Idol] didn’t change any of the raw details. There were always going to be negative comments, but I was just overwhelmed with messages, phone calls, emails. People have written me letters thanking me for writing that song, which is so crazy. But I think that’s when it all started, and it grew this army of women behind me. It didn’t matter how good I sang after that on the show because these women were like, ‘We’re gonna win this for her. We’re gonna lock arms and we’re gonna go to war to make this happen,’ and that’s exactly what happened. It was not my doing.

WW: Does “String Cheese” still stir up the same emotions each time?

Hannah Harper: For sure. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to sing it and not [feel emotional]. Each time, I feel like I have a different testimony about the song and what the song means to me, and it just depends on what season I’m in at that moment. My oldest son is seven years old, and the other day I introduced the song, and said, ‘I don’t have little people on my floor anymore,’ and it stirred up all new emotions for me because I see him growing and he’s getting bigger…I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to introduce it and not cry.

WW: Someone from American Idol had reached out to you asking if you would audition and you thought it was fake. What made you finally decide to believe what was happening and to audition for the show?

Hannah Harper: With reality TV, you hear a lot of mixed reviews from everyone. I was posting consistently at that time and I went live on TikTok one evening, and one of the recruiters watched it for an hour. I had no idea she was in there. She didn’t know me. I probably had 1,000 followers at the time, and I sang “String Cheese.” She reached out and said, ‘You have to share this song with the world. Would you consider auditioning?’ And I was like, ‘No, you’re not real. Get out of my DMs, leave me alone.’ But she was very persistent. She said, ‘Give me five minutes on the phone. Let me talk to you about this.’ So I gave her my phone number. She said, ‘I’m not saying anything other than to just audition.’ So I fully expected the very first audition would probably be my last and that I would share my song, I would go home, and it would be fine because that’s what God had intended for me to do. 

I told my husband and I prayed about it for a long time. I was like, ‘God, just don’t let me tread on ground that’s not appointed for me. Like, shut the door in my face if this is not what you want me to do.’ And that’s not what happened. Throughout the competition, there were so many stumbling blocks that I was so ready to be done. But in the end, I felt like it was a mission. He put me on that mission to speak to other women, to encourage other women, to make them feel seen and heard and I feel like it was accomplished. As well as sharing my testimony with the Lord and they never dampened any of that. Anytime I spoke in the name of Jesus, they didn’t try to take it out. So my experience with Idol was unlike anything I had ever read or heard prior and I felt like the Lord had blessed it immensely.

WW: You’re now on your very first solo tour. What is it like being able to pursue music and getting to share it with fans everywhere?

Hannah Harper: It’s wild. I was on tour as a little girl with my family. It was on a different scale, but the String Cheese tour is the first that I’m headlining. So, it’s something to get used to. My family’s also still with me—my siblings are on the bus, and my parents—So it’s still the same dynamic. It’s very exciting, though. We have a couple shows with Brad Paisley and then Lauren Alaina. It just feels very surreal.

WW: Did you ever picture a life of touring like this for yourself?

Hannah Harper: This was always a dream of mine. I toured with my family from 2009 until 2016 and we lived on our bus. That was my life, so that was normal to me. Not being on the road was not normal. Being the stay-at home-mom in one place every single day was something to get used to. But I loved that and I craved that so bad. After I’d released “String Cheese,” I thought maybe solo is something for me. I had never seen myself doing music apart from my family. I never saw myself pursuing something and stepping out as a solo artist. I didn’t think that I was brave enough, good enough…all the things. American Idol definitely gave me that boost. I was planning on booking shows no matter what and at least trying it because I want my kids to have the same experiences I did growing up, seeing the world and not just the same little community that you grow up in. 

WW: Now that you’ve won American Idol, you’re touring, partnering with Sargento, playing at the Opry and so much more, but you’re also a mom to three. What has it been like to balance all of this craziness with being a mom and everyday life?

Hannah Harper: It’s hard. There were so many things that I thought would be in place prior to this part of my career, like having a manager or assistant. But it’s just me and my husband running the show, and it’s crazy. The good thing is I don’t ever want to be gone on tour 28 days in a row. We’re weekend warriors, so we go out from Thursday to Sunday, and then we’re home the rest of the time. So I think having that home lifestyle that doesn’t change, the wheels are still turning here, the fire’s still burning is probably detrimental for my health as well as my kids and our relationships. So, we are on tour, but we are equally at home, and until they’re bigger, I think that will probably always be the norm. 

WW: What has been the biggest pinch me moment you’ve had since winning American Idol?

Hannah Harper: Now that [Idol is over], I’m able to enjoy the little things. The other day, I ordered merch for a show, and me and my sister-in-law were doing inventory, and I was counting shirts and I was getting way up there in numbers. I was realizing how big this has gotten while folding a shirt. It’s the weirdest thing that that’s when it sinks in. So it’s not necessarily the moment when people are screaming and I’m on the stage, although that’s cool, but it’s the little behind-the-scenes things. 

WW: In terms of music, are there any bucket list items that you dream of getting to accomplish now that you have this platform?

Hannah Harper: The Opry was always the biggest one. I always joked that if I played the Opry, then I could quit. Like, what else is there? But I would love to put a full album out and I would love to write a book. If I wrote a book, I don’t know what the topic would be because I’ve lived like 25 lives, but those are on my goal list.