The final 11 contestants of season 24 of “American Idol” are under a great deal of pressure, with long days of preparing for their next live show. But on top of that, two singers — Keyla Richardson and Hannah Harper — are also juggling having their kids alongside them on the journey.
Though it can be tough to parent while competing, it’s not impossible to do both. 2025’s winner and runner-up — Jamal Roberts and Breanna Nix — had their kids with them for much of their journeys, too (though Roberts was the first parent to win since Fantasia in 2004). In early April, Harper and Richardson opened up to Billboard about the challenges and gifts of parenting while competing on the show.
Keyla Richardson Says Her Son Drew is ‘Always With Me’
Richardson, a 29-year-old single mom from Pensacola, Florida, wowed the judges during her audition, and so did her nine-year-old son, Drew. Full of personality, the elementary school student has appeared during most of his mom’s performances, standing in the crowd, enthusiastically singing along with every word, and emotionally sharing how proud he is of her.
“When he was in my belly, I was singing at worship and singing like it was my last time,” Richardson told Billboard. “So he came out knowing what it was. He loves music. He’s always moving to the groove.”
Now that Richardson is in Los Angeles filming “American Idol,” Drew is in the crowd most weeks and often with his mom during the day, learning her songs right along with her.
“Sometimes he’ll be in the front row playing a game, and I’ll be rehearsing and he’ll stop what he’s doing to come in there and sing with me,” she said. “I tell him, ‘Drew, just give me a minute.’ He listens to me all the time. He’s always with me. I’m a parent during the day, so I’ll rehearse right in front of him. ‘Hey, be quiet. Let Mommy rehearse. Let Mommy do this.’ So that’s how he knows every song.”
Richardson’s parents, Willie and Katja, own the Life Shifting Learning Academy, where she works as the music teacher. Her dad told WEAR News in January, “She’s just a great mother, a great teacher, a great singer, of course as everybody can see. So we’re so proud of her.”
Hannah Harper’s Husband Quit His Job So She Could Compete on ‘American Idol’
Meanwhile, 26-year-old Harper of rural Bluffs Creek, Missouri, has her husband and three kids with her in Los Angeles, and they accompanied her to Hawaii when she taped episodes at Disney’s Aulani Resort & Spa.
“It’s very hard. Each morning when I leave for call time, I can hear them hollering all the way to the elevator because they want me. It wouldn’t be doable if I didn’t have a village of people making it happen. I have family members coming out each week to help my husband, who is here.”
Noting that her husband is “a full-time dad now,” Harper told Billboard, “He quit his job so that I could pursue this and so if you have a team of people backing you and the Lord behind you, then it’s going to happen, but it’s definitely a challenge.”
Harper’s “American Idol” audition went viral in January, when she sang her original song “String Cheese” about finding her way out of postpartum depression. Now, one of the many challenges she’s facing as a mom is not being able to get to the grocery store without being mobbed, she told Billboard.
“I’m not allowed to go to Walmart anymore,” she said. “My husband makes me sit in the car. I post a lot of videos without makeup, so it’s not like I can wash my face and go out and people won’t recognize me. Everyone knows bare face or with makeup who I am. People come up to me everywhere. It’s so weird.”
However, she noted, “Out in California, nobody knows who I am, but in Missouri, because it’s such a low population, everybody and their brother knows that I’m on the show and they’re rooting for me. So out and about is like a meet and greet every time.”
On the next live episode of “American Idol” — airing April 13 at 8 p.m. Eastern time — Richardson and Harper will both compete for viewers’ votes with hopes of making the Top 10.
