When Indiana-based school janitor Richard Goodall received the Golden Buzzer during the season 19 premiere of America’s Got Talent on May 28, 2024, after delivering an explosive performance of the 1981 Journey‘s 1981 classic “Don’t Stop Believin,’” his life changed. He had already taken a plane for the first time to audition in Pasadena, California, where AGT is filmed, and was eating in restaurants and visiting places he’d never see back in Terre Haute.
Before his AGT breakthrough, Goodall, a school custodian for 23 years, had been singing to himself for years while working at the school but never took his big voice to a larger stage. Goodall covered everything from the Lee Greenwood classic “God Bless the USA”—his first TikTok video—along with his renditions of The Righteous Brothers’ “Unchained Melody,” the Mack Rice-penned “Mustang Sally,” made famous by Wilson Pickett in 1967, The Mamas & The Papas’ “California Dreamin’,” Bon Jovi‘s “Wanted Dead or Alive,” Eric Clapton‘s 1992 hit “Tears in Heaven,” and dozens of more songs.
Goodall’s AGT story began in 2009, when first tried out in Chicago, but never made it past the open auditions. When footage of him singing Journey‘s “Don’t Stop Believin’” during a graduation at the school where he worked leaked and went viral in 2022, it led Goodall to try out for AGT season 18. Though he didn’t make it through the early rounds, he made the bigger trip to Los Angeles to audition for season 19.
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Season 19
Before his 2024 audition, Goodall had never even been on a plane but made the trip to Los Angeles to give it another try. “When I took off from Indianapolis, I felt that front wheel come off the ground and you have this floating [feeling], you’re no longer stable,” said Goodall of the experience during an AGT pre-taped interview “And that’s what this whole experience is like right now. It’s a good off-balance but until you actually do something, you don’t know if it’s right for you or not.”
After receiving the Golden Buzzer from Heidi Klum, Goodall returned to the AGT live shows and made it into the finals, performing Michael Bolton’s “How Am I Supposed to Live Without You?” “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor, “Faithfully” by Journey,” and “Don’t Stop Believin’” with members of Journey, including guitarist Neal Schon during the finale.
In a 2025 interview, Goodall shared an update on his life and music career and said he never had any aspirations to perform. “I’ve always wanted to perform, but it’s never been a drive of me to be famous or be noticed,” said Goodall. “It’s more of a ‘music and people’ thing than a ‘Hey, here I am, notice me type thing.’”
He added, “Each song that I sing is a time capsule into people’s lives. It takes you back to a certain point in time. That’s what all of this is about.”
Back to School
Months after winning AGT, Goodall returned to his job as a school custodian in Terre Haute and said he’s still the same person he was before winning America’s Got Talent.
Now 56, Goodall, who married his longtime girlfriend Angie Vanoven, in Pasadena, California, a week before the season 19 final in September, said he has no expectations about his musical career, but if more shows come up, he’ll have to make a decision about his position at the school.
“I’m doing singing things, but I’m still at the school,” said Goodall in a November 2024 interview. “I’m still a janitor. Not much has changed. I mean, I have a manager now, and at some point, I’ll probably have to take a leave of absence for a while and then assess and see if I would stay or start singing, but for the most part, other than singing out, I’m still the same person, same guy, not changed.”
While he’s thankful for the $1 million prize given to him for winning AGT, Goodall said the music means more to him. “Music helps me forget about what is going on in my day-to-day life,” he said. “Listening to music gives us a chance to take a breath.”
Photo: Richard Goodall walks the “America’s Got Talent” Season 19 Winner’s Red Carpet at Hotel Dena on September 19, 2024 in Pasadena, California. (Amanda Edwards/Getty Images)
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