Keyla Richardson stopped the show on Monday’s American Idol with a performance of The Beatles‘ “With a Little Help From My Friends” that left judge Lionel Richie declaring it the greatest he had ever witnessed on the show.
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The 29-year-old single mother and music teacher from Pensacola, Fla., dedicated the performance to the people God had placed in her path, delivering a vocal that drew comparisons to Janis Joplin and Tina Turner from Richie himself.
“I have never. I have never ever! I’ve been on American Idol since I was that big,” Richie said after the performance, unable to contain himself. “I have never had any contestant walk out on this stage and tear the place up.”
“The place got blown up. That Janis Joplin sounding, Tina Turner sounding. I don’t know who you are, but that right there was the greatest performance I have ever seen on this stage,” he added.
Guest advisor and judge Keke Palmer was moved to tears during rehearsals, telling Richardson: “That voice was ancestral, girl. What you’re doing is more than just singing. You’re embodying spirit through song.” After the performance, Palmer drew a pointed comparison.
“The last time I’ve seen somebody make me feel like this and get people turned up like this, her name was Fantasia Barrino,” she said. “And she won American Idol.”
Carrie Underwood added: “You don’t think about what you’re doing as it’s happening. It just flows out of you. You were in the moment, you were having fun with the audience. It was from the heavens to Keyla and then out to us. It was spectacular.” Luke Bryan rounded out the praise: “You’re just here to let what God has given you come out.”
Richardson has been a standout since her Season 24 audition, when she performed P!nk’s “Glitter in the Air” and brought Bryan to tears. She has previous competition experience — she was a Top 4 finalist on BET’s Sunday Best in 2019, and subsequently landed her first No. 1 on Billboard’s Gospel Airplay chart with the single “So Good.”
She has been a music teacher at Life Shifting Learning Academy in Florida and serves as a praise and worship leader at her church. Her nine-year-old son Drew, who briefly sang for the judges during her audition, has been her biggest supporter throughout the competition.
The Top 14 will be revealed during the first live show on March 30. Viewers can vote for Richardson by texting 20 to 21523, at AmericanIdol.com, or by commenting “Keyla” on American Idol‘s pinned posts on Facebook, Instagram or TikTok. Voting closes at 6 a.m. ET Tuesday, March 24.