{"id":21426,"date":"2026-04-24T07:44:27","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T07:44:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/?p=21426"},"modified":"2026-04-24T07:44:27","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T07:44:27","slug":"american-idol-was-set-ablaze-on-disney-night-as-hannah-harper-delivered-a-daring-performance-of-almost-there-that-left-everyones-jaws-on-the-floor-after-being-slammed-for","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/?p=21426","title":{"rendered":"American Idol was set ablaze on Disney Night as Hannah Harper delivered a \u201cDARING\u201d performance of Almost There that left everyone\u2019s jaws on the floor. After being slammed for \u201cWEAK\u201d stage presence, Hannah fought back with a \u201cHEART-STOPPING\u201d transformation that has the world comparing her to a young Reba McEntire!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>American Idol\u2019s Hannah Harper delivered a powerful \u201credemption moment\u201d on Disney Night in Season 24, performing \u201cAlmost There\u201d from The Princess and the Frog just before the Top 7 results were revealed.<\/p>\n<p>Disney Night remains one of the most anticipated episodes of the season, and this year the Top 9 contestants took the stage with classic Disney songs while working under the guidance of guest mentor and former Idol winner Jennifer Hudson, who also joined the panel as a guest judge. Alongside her, regular judges Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie offered feedback throughout the night, though the final eliminations were determined by viewer votes.<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-4\"><\/div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-48430 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/spotlightfocus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ji.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 813px) 100vw, 813px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spotlightfocus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ji.jpg 813w, https:\/\/spotlightfocus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ji-300x162.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spotlightfocus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ji-768x415.jpg 768w\" alt=\"\" width=\"813\" height=\"439\" \/><\/p>\n<p>For Harper, the performance carried extra weight. After previously facing criticism online about her stage presence\u2014being praised for her vocals but questioned on her ability to fully command the stage\u2014she used the Disney Night performance as a chance to shift the narrative. Working closely with Hudson on choreography, she aimed to bring more confidence and movement to her performance.<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-5\"><\/div>\n<p><strong>Watch the video below.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Hannah Harper | Almost There | Top 9 Perform | American Idol 2026\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ikC6bhP_W_c?feature=oembed\" width=\"\u201c350&quot;\" height=\"\u201c235&quot;\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-origwidth=\"790\" data-origheight=\"444\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The result drew strong reactions from the judges.<\/p>\n<p>Luke Bryan praised her growth, saying, \u201cI loved it! It made my heart smile. It made me smile watching you grow into\u2026 you started with this Reba McEntire with attitude kind of thing, then you grew into your character. You did it perfectly like your personality that we know. It\u2019s one of my favorite performances you\u2019ve ever done.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-48431 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/spotlightfocus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/k.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 813px) 100vw, 813px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spotlightfocus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/k.jpg 813w, https:\/\/spotlightfocus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/k-300x162.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spotlightfocus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/k-768x415.jpg 768w\" alt=\"\" width=\"813\" height=\"439\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Lionel Richie echoed the praise but also offered a practical tip for future performances, advising her to rehearse in the same shoes she plans to wear on stage to avoid discomfort affecting her confidence.<\/p>\n<p>Carrie Underwood also offered encouragement, drawing a personal comparison to her own experience on American Idol. \u201cThis is another way you remind me of myself,\u201d she said. \u201cI got dragged when I was on this show for not moving enough. I had never done anything like this before. Now, I can\u2019t not move. I sing with my entire body. I feel like you are on your way. Just keep taking those steps.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-48429 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/spotlightfocus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/VS-YouTube-HannahHarperAlmostThereTop9PerformAmericanIdol2026-253-1024x576.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 790px) 100vw, 790px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spotlightfocus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/VS-YouTube-HannahHarperAlmostThereTop9PerformAmericanIdol2026-253-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/spotlightfocus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/VS-YouTube-HannahHarperAlmostThereTop9PerformAmericanIdol2026-253-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spotlightfocus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/VS-YouTube-HannahHarperAlmostThereTop9PerformAmericanIdol2026-253-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/spotlightfocus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/VS-YouTube-HannahHarperAlmostThereTop9PerformAmericanIdol2026-253.jpg 1280w\" alt=\"\" width=\"790\" height=\"444\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Beyond the stage, Harper has also been dealing with growing attention off-camera. Recently, an online rumor circulated claiming she had exited the competition after allegedly signing with Dolly Parton\u2019s Butterfly Records label. The speculation spread quickly after her Top 20 appearance, but Harper shut it down directly on Instagram.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis @americanidol TOP 20 did NOT sign a contract and leave the competition.<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"emoji\" role=\"img\" draggable=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/17.0.2\/svg\/1f602.svg\" alt=\"\ud83d\ude02\" \/>\u201d she wrote. \u201cThe amount of AI and false information floating around right now is honestly mind blowing! Meanwhile I\u2019m over here just smiling, dancing around, and acting like I know what\u2019s going on at @disneyaulani when the truth is I have absolutely no clue.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tvinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/american-idol-hannah-harper-top-9-1008x570.jpg\" alt=\"Hannah Harper\" \/><\/p>\n<p>She added, \u201cWe\u2019re just gonna keep trusting the Lord and riding this wild wave together.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Despite the rumors, Harper has remained one of the standout contestants of Season 24. Her audition performance of her original song \u201cString Cheese,\u201d written during a difficult period following the birth of her third child, went viral and helped establish her as a frontrunner early in the competition.<\/p>\n<p>With her Disney Night performance now earning praise and momentum building heading into the Top 7 reveal, Harper continues to strengthen her position as one of the season\u2019s most closely watched contestants.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>American Idol\u2019s Hannah Harper delivered a powerful \u201credemption moment\u201d on Disney Night in Season 24, performing \u201cAlmost There\u201d from The Princess and the Frog just before the&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21427,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21426","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21426","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21426"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21426\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21428,"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21426\/revisions\/21428"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/21427"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21426"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21426"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}