WATCH: Indiana school janitor sings Journey's Don't Stop Believin' in viral video, earns praise from lead singer 

Indiana school janitor Richard Goodall recently earned praise from Steve Perry for covering Journey's Don't Stop Believin' (Image via Andy Vermaut/Twitter and Getty Images)

Richard Goodall, a janitor at an elementary school in Indiana, recently went viral for performing the cover of the popular Journey song Don't Stop Believin'. A video documenting his performance largely circulated online and earned praise on social media.

The video even managed to garner the attention of Journey singer Steve Perry, who was the original co-writer and performer of the song. The musician took to Twitter and TikTok to share that he loved Goodall’s performance.

The overwhelmed janitor reposted Perry’s comment on his own TikTok profile and thanked the singer for his response. He wrote:

“Love your music sir!!! Thank you for commenting this means much to me!!! Thank you.”

Speaking about his sudden online fame, Goodall told Fox News that the process was “organic”:

“It was all organic. I plugged in ‘Don’t Stop Believin’ and I just started singing and that’s what it was... I’ve never had this kind of response. I don’t know what to think of all this.”

As per the publication, the students and staff of the elementary school gathered together to celebrate the graduation of fifth-grade children with a talent show. When the event came to an end, teachers asked the janitor to perform a song for the students, which later turned him into a viral sensation.

Teachers at the school shared that Goodall usually performs songs like Lee Greenwood’s God Bless the USA but decided to perform Don't Stop Believin' to inspire the kids this year.

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Twitter praises janitor Richard Goodall’s viral cover of Don't Stop Believin'

As Richard Goodall’s cover of Journey’s Don't Stop Believin' went viral online, several social media users lauded him for his talent, kindness and musical abilities.

Many also took to Twitter to share their reactions to the performance:

As reactions continued to pour in online, Goodall told Fox News that his newfound online fame was similar to a roller coaster ride:

“When you first start out, you hear that clank, and then you hear clink, clink, clink — and then you just start going up. It feels like I’m going up and I’m not sure what’s going to come after that. It’s just kind of a wild ride that I’m not used to.”

Goodall also said that he was a “regular person” and is “happy and thankful” for the food in his belly, the roof over his head, and for being “warm in the winter and cool in the summer.”

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Everything to know about Richard Goodall

Richard Goodall works as a janitor at Davis Park Elementary School (Image via YouTube)

Richard Goodall is a 53-year-old man from Terre Haute, Indiana, who works as a janitor for Indiana’s Davis Park Elementary School. As per The New York Post, he has been working with the Vigo County School Corporation for more than 20 years.

The janitor recently made news after his cover of Journey’s Don't Stop Believin' went viral online and earned praise from Steve Perry himself. Goodall’s performance was initially filmed and uploaded to TikTok by Mariah Denehie, an employee of one of the Davis Park students with special needs.

A day after posting the video online, Denehie told Goodall that it has already garnered nearly 107,000 views. The footage gained nearly one million views by the weekend and has reached more than three million views this week.

Reports suggest Goodall used to sing in his high school choir. He also performed in a gospel choir for eight years until it was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

He told Fox News that he loves bringing joy and happiness to others through music:

“I just like people to smile and have fun and forget their problems for three minutes and 30 seconds — however long the song is.”

In the wake of his online fame, Goodall virtually auditioned for The Voice but was eventually turned down. He also said he is not sure if he will audition for reality shows in the days to come.