Kory Grow
Contact Kory Grow on X View all posts by Kory Grow May 5, 2026
Hannah Harper and Kellie Pickler perform on 'American Idol.' Eric McCandless/Disney Kellie Pickler, the country singer who placed six in the fifth season of American Idol, returned to the show on Monday to perform Martina McBride’s “A Broken Wing” with Hannah Harper, a contestant on the current season. The appearance was part of a 20th anniversary reunion of the 2006 cast, and it was a rare appearance by Pickler following the loss of her husband, Kyle Jacobs, who died by suicide in 2023.
The performance was emotional, as the two sparkly dressed women, wrung raw emotion from the slowly ambling power ballad. The most special moment of the performance, though, was hearing the two singers harmonize, and the joy on Pickler’s face as she saw Harper’s promise, raising her hands to the younger singer as Harper sang a cappella.
