{"id":1913,"date":"2026-05-13T05:47:28","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T05:47:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/american-idol-finalist-keyla-richardsons-mom-says-she-was-robbed-in-season-24-finale\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T05:47:28","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T05:47:28","slug":"american-idol-finalist-keyla-richardsons-mom-says-she-was-robbed-in-season-24-finale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/american-idol-finalist-keyla-richardsons-mom-says-she-was-robbed-in-season-24-finale\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018American Idol\u2019 finalist Keyla Richardson&#8217;s mom says she was &#8216;robbed&#8217; in Season 24 finale"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/05\/crop-8930187.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The mom of \u201cAmerican Idol\u201d finalist Keyla Richardson has claimed her daughter was \u201crobbed\u201d following the show\u2019s Season 24 finale, where <a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2026\/05\/12\/entertainment\/american-idol-season-24-winner-revealed-during-star-studded-finale\/\">the singer finished third<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy baby was robbed,\u201d Katja Richardson <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/katja.richardson.5\/posts\/pfbid02KkxBvvi3vvWQd9fRmVsWXdEbZQch7tdtcxvMNWt2bMCSjTYAepVDZC3Dze7S4bfMl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">wrote on Facebook<\/a> after Monday night\u2019s ABC broadcast. \u201cShe did not fail. She was robbed i\u2019m sorry I\u2019m gonna say it!!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Keyla,  a 29-year-old teacher from Pensacola, Fla., placed behind winner Hannah Harper and runner-up Jordan McCullough in the live finale.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Keyla Richardson performs during the \u201cAmerican Idol\u201d Season 24 finale, May 11, 2026. <span class=\"credit\">Disney via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Richardson performed Alicia Keys\u2019 \u201cUn-Thinkable (I\u2019m Ready)\u201d before singing Whitney Houston\u2019s \u201cI Love The Lord\u201d for the hometown segment.<\/p>\n<p>Judge Luke Bryan praised her run on the show during the live broadcast.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cThis whole year I just watched you focus with drive and determination,\u201d Bryan said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve seen you just give it your all for your family and your crew and your people and you\u2019ve won in our eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJust watching you seize every moment has been so inspiring to me,\u201d he added. \u201cCongratulations, great job.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Richardson placed third behind winner Hannah Harper and runner-up Jordan McCullough. <span class=\"credit\">Disney<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Despite her mom\u2019s reaction, Richardson kept things upbeat as she reflected on her run on the show.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe journey has been amazing,\u201d Richardson <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DYODux1EhYq\/?img_index=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">posted on Instagram<\/a>. \u201cWe are just getting started #Idol.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The singer also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DYQChDQOqKj\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">shared a post<\/a> on Tuesday alongside fellow \u201cAmerican Idol\u201d alum Breanna Nix, who finished in <a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2025\/05\/19\/entertainment\/jessica-simpson-performs-on-tv-for-the-first-time-in-15-years-on-american-idol-2025-finale\/\">third place during Season 23<\/a> last year.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Richardson performs with Jason Mraz during the \u201cAmerican Idol\u201d Season 24 finale. <span class=\"credit\">Disney via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cSeason 23 &amp; Season 24 3rd place finalist!\u201d Richardson wrote.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s NOT BAD AT ALL, it\u2019s actually GREAT. I\u2019m excited about what\u2019s coming, It\u2019s only up from here! Love you @breannanixmusic #Idol #Top3.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The three-hour finale also featured performances from guest mentor Alicia Keys and judges Bryan, Carrie Underwood and Lionel Richie, who teamed up for a rendition of Richie\u2019s \u201cDeep River Woman.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Despite her mom saying she was \u201crobbed,\u201d Richardson posted afterwards \u201cWe are just getting started.\u201d <span class=\"credit\">Disney via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Underwood also performed with M\u00f6tley Cr\u00fce, joining the rock band for \u201cHome Sweet Home\u201d and \u201cKickstart My Heart.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Other performers throughout the night included Brad Paisley, Cameron Whitcomb, Clay Aiken, En Vogue, Jason Mraz, Lee Ann Womack, Nelly, Shinedown and Tori Kelly.<\/p>\n<p>Blues Traveler and Gin Blossoms also appeared during the live broadcast.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Harper reflected on her win in an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DYORiQtoOdA\/?hl=en&amp;img_index=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Instagram post<\/a> of her own.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat a wild, beautiful journey this has been,\u201d Harper wrote. \u201cAnd somehow we\u2019re just getting started.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThank you to every single person who believed in me, prayed over me, voted, and helped carry this dream farther than I ever could\u2019ve imagined,\u201d she added. \u201cY\u2019all changed my life.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2026\/05\/13\/entertainment\/american-idol-finalist-keyla-richardsons-mom-says-she-was-robbed-in-season-24-finale\/\" target=\"_blank\">Source link<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The mom of \u201cAmerican Idol\u201d finalist Keyla Richardson has claimed her daughter was \u201crobbed\u201d following<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1914,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1913","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/crop-8930187.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1913","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1913"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1913\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1914"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1913"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1913"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}