After months of fierce competition, “American Idol” has a new winner in 25-year-old Hannah Harper, who was crowned the champion of season 24 on May 11, 2026.
The stay-at-home mom from Willow Springs, Missouri, received more votes during the three-hour finale than her fellow Top 3 finalists, runner-up Jordan McCullough and third-place finisher Keyla Richardson.
As soon as host Ryan Seacrest revealed the results, social media was flooded with fans’ reactions. While many were thrilled to see Harper win, others were deeply disappointed about McCullough coming in second.
Hannah Harper Fans Say Moms Banded Together to Bring Her the Win
Harper instantly made an impression on judges Luke Bryan, Carrie Underwood, and Lionel Richie with her audition. She brought Underwood to tears with her original country song “String Cheese,” about recovering from postpartum depression and cherishing the time she has with her three young boys.
As soon as the audition aired, the song immediately went viral, racking up over 100 million streams. Moms across the U.S. who related to Harper’s lyrics and how vocal she is about her faith banded together to support Harper, and their efforts seemed to work.
“She touched the hearts of many moms,” one wrote, “and the moms fought hard to make her winner 🏆😭😍✨ she’s amazing!”
Another supportive mom wrote, “CONGRATULATIONS HANNAH!!!!! So stinking proud of you 😭🙏❤️ you had me in tears and hooked from day one with String Cheese. Us mommas truly felt heard and completely related to you. Your faith and worship to God also my goodness is so remarkable! 🙌 that’s number one. Period!!! Glory be to God!”
“All my babies stayed up to watch you win,” another fan wrote on Instagram. “We love you Hannah!! You’re going to do big things for God’s glory.♥️😭🙌🏽”
“Have loved watching you every week from the audition,” another commented. “You are a bright light with a beautiful God given talent. You deserved this win! Congrats. 🤩”
Other ‘American Idol’ Fans Were Very Vocal About Feeling Like Jordan McCullough Was ‘Robbed’
While Harper basked in the glory of her victory and McCullough sweetly cheered for her onstage, many fans expressed their frustration and shock online, thinking the soulful singer and church worship leader should have won instead, including one who wrote on Instagram, “Jordan was robbed !!!!”
Another wrote, “There’s just no way that the best singer of the entire season just got robbed like that lol… 🤦♂️😐” and someone else agreed, “Jordan was the most talented singer we’ve had on the show in years… 🥹”
“I’ve never been more disappointed,” another viewer lamented. “Hannah is sweet and has a sweet voice, but American Idol used to be about who had the best showmanship and strongest voices. Now it’s all about who has a bigger social media following 😭😔. No more idol for me.”
Yet another directed a comment to Jordan, writing, “It’s frustrating that you didn’t win! You were clearly the Winner in my eyes, ears, and heart✨You were expansive in your range, annointed, and a 10/10 every song every week‼️”
A couple of hours after being named runner-up, McCullough posted on Instagram, “It may not be all that I hope for And every dream has not been realized And to see Your face one day, God I know it’s all gonna be worth it… so I thank you for my Life!” 🙏 #idol”
This reminds me of the 2009 American Idol finale when Kris Allen beat Adam Lambert.. America got this wrong..
Thats my only consolation. Jordan will be as successful as Adam
America DEFINATELY got this wrong!!!! Jordan had the best voice and should have won. I should stop watching this show.
They were both superb singers who are talented in many different ways. As Adam Lambert, Clay Akens, and a few other second-place winners have shown, it doesn’t really matter as they will both have fabulous singing careers, in different music genre. I think Hannah was more relatable to all the moms in the audience and that was the difference. It isn’t only about the vocals, it’s about the whole persona, hence the term “idol” and not “voice”.
I totally agree. Jordan should have won American Idol. Hands down, he had the best voice. Every time he sang, you were mesmerized by him!
Very disappointed in the outcome.