‘American Idol’: Jordan McCullough Reveals Why Taylor Swift Week Was ‘Very Challenging’

Jordan McCullough never faltered once during his run on American Idol, but the talented vocalist can pinpoint the week he struggled most: Taylor Swift night.

“We honor her artistry and who she is as a songwriter, but those songs are really hard to sing,” Jordan told TV Insider. “It is no joke. Once you get in there and start practicing them, it’s like, OK, only she can sing them. It was a big challenge. One, to make sure I picked the right song, but also to make sure I did a good job and delivered it in a way people accepted it.”

Jordan opted to sing “Tim McGraw,” Swift’s debut single from her 2006 self-titled album.

Winner Hannah Harper agreed that Taylor Swift night was a challenge, but said the hardest week for her was ’90s night, which was when the judges picked songs for the contestants to sing. She was given “Heads Carolina, Tails California” by Jo Dee Messina, and said that although she “loved the song,” she had a “rough week” leading up to the performance.

“It’s the point in the competition where you’re ready to go home, but you’re still freshly there, and there’s still a long way to go, so I think mentally it was really challenging for us,” Hannah explained. The Judges’ Song Contest was during the second week of live shows, and there were still four more episodes until the finale at that point.

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Getting through the tough weeks paid off for Hannah and Jordan, as they continued to get voted through by viewers week after week. For Jordan, the “turning point” was Rock and Roll Hall of Fame night, which he said helped America see a new side to his artistry.

“Even looking back now, I don’t know who that was that night on stage,” he laughed. “I was moving around, spinning around, throwing glasses into the crowd. It was high energy and so much fun. It also taught me I can do that if I want to.”

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