Pensacola’s Keyla Richardson returns home as her American Idol journey continues on

PENSACOLA, Fla. — Pensacola native and American Idol contestant Keyla Richardson is again on the town for every week after competing in Hawaii.

She is now a part of the idol’s prime 20.

On Monday night time, Richardson watched the present’s latest episode alongside followers, mates, and household at Andy D’s on Pensacola Bay.

“She is just a star among stars,” stated Andrew Demartin, proprietor of Andy D’s. “So to bring that kind of fame to Pensacola, from which we’ve had a lot of famous people come before, it does us good.”

Since she was 5 years previous, Richardson says she’s been utilizing her God-given vocal expertise to uplift others.

Now she’s doing so on a nationwide stage.

“It feels really good, because I feel like I’ve been here all my life,” Richardson stated. “And just to see my city supports something positive, it is different.”

“I got people watching me back at home that really love me and support me and believe in me,” she added.

At the beginning of the season, the gospel singer earned a golden ticket, sending her to Hollywood Week in Nashville.

She then went on to compete in Hawaii for “Ohana Week,” the place she was known as final to maintain going.

“I was like, ‘I’m gonna go home,'” Richardson stated. “It shook me up. It really did. And I made it; it put that fire back in me again.”

Before gunning for the idol title, Richardson made her nationwide tv debut in 2019.

She was a finalist on a BET Network sequence known as “Sunday Best” — an expertise she says helped form her craft.

“It’s a completely different experience from BET to American Idol,” she stated. “American Idol is a fast-paced kind of TV show. It definitely prepared me for the platform. Definitely kind of groomed me to be an artist.”

Richardson is a music trainer at Life Shifting Learning Academy on Pensacola Boulevard.

She says she’s honored to characterize her metropolis.

“I’m doing it for my hometown, Pensacola, Florida,” Richardson stated.

The subsequent episode of American Idol will air on Monday, March 23, at 7 pm

Live fan voting may even happen that night time.

To vote for Keyla Richardson, textual content 20 to 21523 firstly of the present.