America’s Got Talent winner Richard Goodall has been opening up about his life five months after his amazing Season 19 win. The school janitor stunned judges and viewers alike with his amazing vocals, and received the Golden Buzzer in the first round from judge Heidi Klum.
Despite his success on the show, Goodall says he never intended to become famous and since his triumph has returned to work as a school janitor in Terre Haute, Indiana.
Before appearing on AGT Goodall would sing around the hallways of the school where he worked and eventually, someone filmed him performing Journey‘s “Don’t Stop Believin’” in 2022 and it went viral. This led him to audition for Season 18 of AGT, where he got dropped in the early rounds. But, everything worked out for him in Season 19.
The talent show winner recently appeared on Chris Carrion’s podcast, Tell Us About Yourself, to talk about life after winning the biggest talent competition in the world.
Carrion asked the singer if he ever had any aspirations of becoming a professional singer before auditioning for AGT and his answer is surprising.
“Never at any point did I ever have any aspirations to perform. I mean, I’ve always wanted to perform, but it’s never been a drive of me to be famous or be noticed,” he said.
“It’s more of a ‘music and people’ thing than a ‘hey, here I am, notice me type thing.’”
“Each song that I sing is a time capsule into people’s lives. It takes you back to a certain point in time,” he said. “That’s what all of this is about.”
Goodall said he is very thankful for the money that came out of winning the show (the champ’s prize totals $1 million), but he cares more about the music and people. “Music helps me forget about what is going on in my day to day life. Listening to music gives us a chance to take a breath.”
The singer said that being on AGT has been “life-altering, life-changing.” However, he still works at a school as a janitor. Sometimes, he has to take time off for concerts and performances. Goodall shared that he used all of his time off to be on the competition show, but his job was very cool about it. He told Carrion that some people look at him differently after his time on the show, but he assures them that he is still the same person. Despite his fame, Goodall said he can’t see himself not working at the school, but if his concert schedule picks up he will have to make a decision.
He said that one decision changed his life and encouraged people to make time for what they love.
“If it’s something that you love and you’re passionate about, you have to make time,” he said.
Goodall also shared that the judges – Simon Cowell, Heidi Klum, Howie Mandel, and Sofia Vergara – were all very supportive of him while he was on the show. Everyone in the crew also encouraged him and treated him like a friend.
While on the show, he sang “How Am I Supposed to Live Without You?” by Michael Bolton, “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor, “Faithfully” by Journey,” and then got to sing “Don’t Stop Believin’” with Journey on the finale.
Now, Goodall is living a normal life with his wife, Angie Vanoven, in Pasadena, California, whom he married a week before the Season 19 finale.
The singer ended the podcast by saying that he has “no expectations” on his next gig or where his career will take him next.
Tell Us About Yourself is a podcast that interviews game and reality show contestants. New episodes drop every Saturday.
