2 AMERICAN IDOL FINALISTS JUST MADE MAJOR CAREER MOVES 

While the finale may be over, Hannah Harper and Keyla Richardson are proving their stories are just getting started.

New opportunities, growing momentum, and unexpected next steps are already putting both singers back in the spotlight.

 Fans are saying this is only the beginning.

Keyla Richardson, Hannah Harper make big moves after ‘American Idol’

“There’s so many things that’s in store, so much good news that I have for you. So much that I want you to stay tuned on,” Keyla Richardson said.

Pensacola became Pensakeyla for the past few months as the community rallied behind Florida native and gospel singer Keyla Richardson during her time on “American Idol.”

Now that the show’s over, Richardson hints where her career might take her next.

Richardson, a frontrunner in Season 24 of the reality singing competition, made it all the way to the show’s three-hour finale, ending her journey May 11 as second runner-up. Jordan McCullough was crowned runner-up later in the episode, and country singer Hannah Harper from Southeast Missouri took home the gold.

Check out what the Top 3 finalists are up to following the show’s finale.

What’s next for Keyla Richardson? Perhaps a genre shift

Since returning home, Richardson said she has been back in the studio working on music, with lots of opportunities for both her and her son, Drew, hinting that they’re “going to be on the road a lot” and maybe even seeing her face on some talk shows.

While she can’t say yet what her plans are for the next few months, she doesn’t think her schedule will allow her to continue teaching at Life Shifting Academy next school year.

“I love my students, I’m always going to visit my students…they’re my kids. As far as right now, my schedule is so busy I don’t see myself being able to even go back to the school and teach the kids,” Richardson said. “But I can come back and maybe have a program; we can schedule that time.”

When her newest music is released, fans may even see her transition into a genre outside of gospel.

“I’ve always sung gospel music, and now, I’m just open to more. I’m an inspirational person, and everybody just won’t come to where I’m at, I have to go to where they’re at. That’s how I think about it,” Richardson said. “I’m just not in the gospel lane anymore. I’m in the country lane, I’m in the pop lane, I’m in the rock lane, the soul lane, you name it. I can do different kinds of stuff, but I’m just really leaning toward pop…I’m just a little bit of everything, I guess.”

Richardson had previously grown her career as a gospel artist, climbing the charts with original songs like “So Good,” which placed No. 1 on Billboard Gospel Airplay in 2020 and was Richardson’s soulful account of praise for God’s goodness, rescuing her from even the darkest moments of life.

Keyla Richardson to perform Pensacola concert at Saenger Theatre

Tickets are still available on Ticketmaster for Richardson’s Pensacola concert at the Saenger Theatre at 7 p.m. on July 25.

Watch all of Keyla Richardson’s ‘American Idol’ performances

Take a stroll down memory lane and watch all of Keyla Richardson’s “American Idol” performances this season, beginning with her audition.