“What Else Is There?”: ‘American Idol’ Winner Hannah Harper Jokes She Can Quit Music Now That She’s Made Her Opry Debut Alongside Carrie Underwood (Exclusive)

Hannah Harper just accomplished a major career milestone. Fresh off her American Idol win, Harper made her Grand Ole Opry debut, which was a dream come true for the singer.

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“It was one of my biggest dreams,” Harper told American Songwriter at 19 Recordings’ American Idol Takeover at Nashville’s 6th and Peabody. “Some people joke and they’re like, ‘What are you going to do when you get to play the Opry?’ I’m like, ‘Quit. What else is there?’” 

“There’s no other big moment. That’s it,” she added. “I was honored to have that moment.”

Before she took the stage, Harper admitted she “was feeling queasy.” As soon as she stepped onto the famed stage, though, the country singer simply did her thing.

“As soon as I stepped in the circle, I felt like I took on the energy of all of the other artists that got to stand in that circle,” she said. “I was able to sing and take in the moment. It was absolutely incredible.”

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Her favorite part of the experience didn’t come during her performance. Instead, it was the time she spent backstage at the Opry.

“My favorite part about the Opry was the open door policy. If you’re in your dressing room and you’re not changing, all the doors stay open,” Harper said. “People were coming and going the entire time. I got to just visit and mingle with all the different artists as well as guests backstage. I loved that.”

“That’s one of the biggest things about someone’s career is getting the one-on-one personal relationships that you get with your fans as well as other artists who have walked the same path as you,” she added. “It was amazing. I hope I get to go back.”

Hannah Harper Joined By Carrie Underwood at the Grand Ole Opry

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That’s not to say her time on stage wasn’t memorable, though. During her debut, Harper got to perform “String Cheese,” the original song she sang during her Idol audition, alongside Carrie Underwood.

“I never thought that a song that I wrote Carrie Underwood would sing, especially something about cheese. You know what I mean?” Harper joked of the Idol judge. “I kind of pinned her down while we were at Idol and asked if she wanted to sing that. She couldn’t say no on the spot, so she got it out of the way and she did an amazing job.”

“I was honored to get to share my debut with her,” she continued. “It was a full circle moment to get to sing that song with her.”

Harper noted that her Opry experience “gave me the next oomph in my step” as she prepares to begin her String Cheese Tour.

“The biggest thing that I’m looking forward to is getting to connect one-on-one with the people who voted for me the entire Idol journey,” Harper said. “I didn’t win with my own ability. It was the people, and the fans, and the friends and family—I don’t want to call them fans, those are my people—who made it happen each week and made me feel loved supported.”

Harper added, “I was very thankful. Getting to see them in a more intimate setting is what I long for.”

Photo by Getty Images/Derek White for 19 Recordings