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America's Got Talent surprised viewers with the second Golden Buzzer winner of season 19, which was given to Richard Goodall by Heidi Klum. During the premiere episode that aired on May 28, 2024, judges Simon Cowell, Howie Mandel, Sophia Vergara, and Heidi Klum were impressed by Goodall's performance.
Richard Goodall is a middle school janitor from Indianapolis. He performed the cover of Don’t Stop Believin, on the AGT stage that left judge Heidi mesmerized. After the episode aired, Richard told People magazine the same day that he was shocked to find out that he was going straight to the live shows. Richard shared that he was overwhelmed with a mix of emotions:
"Golden Buzzer [winners] are an elite group of people. I never in a million years expected to be in that class. And I still can’t believe Heidi did that!"
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Before heading to perform, Richard told the cameras that he sings in his free time mostly for the middle school kids at West Vigo Middle School. They were the ones who encouraged his dreams and pushed him to share his talent with the world.
3 things to know about the second Golden Buzzer winner of AGT: Richard Goodall
1) Richard has been a janitor for 23 years
The AGT contestant revealed he has been working as a janitor for the past 23 years. Richard started his job at the Chauncey Rose Middle School which was close to his home in Terre Haute. While cleaning the tables and floors, Richard used to sing and the kids loved his voice. They helped him realize that he needed to put his passion for music out in the world:
"I'm not a fancy person. I take out the trash. I wipe off the tables, I sweep the floors. I'm just having fun and I'm trying to make people happy," Richard added.
2) Richard tried to audition on the AGT stage in 2009
When the middle school janitor won AGT season 19's Golden Buzzer, Richard shared that his musical journey was a long one. This wasn't the first time he was auditioning on the NBC series, he appeared on stage back in 2009. Unfortunately, he couldn't make it past the first round. He shared with People magazine:
"I tried out for AGT in 2009 and didn’t make it past the first round in Chicago... But like the song says, 'Don’t stop believing!' How can I tell the kids that and not reach for dreams too?"
3) He has a TikTok page with 16K followers
Before performing, Richard explained that Journey, Foreigner, and Survivor music helped him calm down and focus. He also mentioned that he likes to sing tracks that give people hope and make them happy.
On his TikTok page, Richard has covered songs such as Unchained Melody, Mustang Sally, and California Dreamin’. Currently, the Golden Buzzer winner has a following of more than 16K on TikTok. He further told the publication:
"I’m a normal person who does regular things for people. My singing, I have done mostly every year in our schools. Anytime they have asked me to sing I did it. To this day, I know how lucky I am. And I’m not taking any of this for granted."
To follow Richard Goodall's journey on AGT season 19, stream the upcoming episodes every Tuesday on NBC.
