This week, hopefuls for the landmark Season 20 of America’s Got Talent were set to make the journey to Pasadena, California and be part of the show’s open call auditions ahead of the series returning in the 2025 TV schedule (likely sometime in May). However, the venue is currently being used as an emergency evacuation center for the Red Cross after the Eaton Fire erupted in the Los Angeles city last week. When I scheduled my interview with Season 19 winner Richard Goodall earlier this month, both of us did not expect to be talking about the devastating wildfires in the region, which he now feels connected to.
During my conversation with the Indiana native who blew our minds last year for being the “singing janitor” with his viral “Don’t Stop Believin’” audition before becoming Heidi Klum’s golden buzzer pick and eventually the Season 19 champion, he recalled his whirlwind finale week. When I asked about getting married to his wife, Angie Vanoven, just few days before becoming the AGT winner, he said this:
Well, it was very happy and just recently, there was a little bit of sadness to it. We had an amazing time across the street from [the Pasadena Civic Auditorium] is a shopping center. There's a fountain upstairs, and that's where we got married right there by the Mexican restaurant. That's where we wanted to go. AGT helped set up the little room where we could have cake.
Richard Goodall not only has great memories being on the AGT stage during his season, but the city also became the venue for his marriage. He got married right next to the El Cholo Café, across from the Pasadena Civic Center before heading to west Los Angeles to have a fancy dinner with his wife. As he shared:
And then, that night they helped us set up getting to go out to eat at Moonshadows, there in Malibu. And I just recently heard that it was a part of the Pacific Palisades fire. It burnt down along with other restaurants. So it was kinda sad to know, but I mean at least we got to experience that. Amazing restaurant. It was so much fun. And the scenery was just absolutely gorgeous.
While the Pasadena area he spoke of is thankfully still standing after the Eaton Fire, there’s some “sadness” now around their memorable night out in Malibu since Moonshadows recently was a casualty of the Palisades fire. Per the iconic restaurant’s website, the oceanfront property was lost in the fire on January 8 after over 40 years in business.
The owners are currently raising money for their employees on GoFundMe after the tragedy. Goodall also said this:
But Angie and I were so happy that we could do it during that time, which made it even just that much more special, because we did it in between shows. The finale was taped on a Tuesday, we got married on Wednesday, and then that Thursday, we filmed the grand finale. It was a pretty busy week. We got married the night before I won.
Winning America’s Got Talent is one massive feat, especially considering Simon Cowell was so kind to the singer, describing him as “one of the most memorable contestants we’ve had in a long, long time” despite being also critical of him during one performance). Along with the big win and getting to say “I do” to his person, he also got to play with Journey member Neal Schon, which he told me was “on a higher shelf” than he could ever imagine for his own bucket list.
When recalling his experience on the series, Goodall had only good things to say about his time in Los Angeles during Season 19. In his words:
The fact that people just supported me as much as they did meant the world to Angie and I both. And, I absolutely loved every single second on the show. The people behind the scenes are equally as amazing as the celebrity judges out front. I learned so much from them. I tried to be as much of a sponge as I could be, because coming from small town Indiana, and then flying all the way out to LA and going to Pasadena, it's a lot. There's a lot out there. There's a lot going on at all times. But, the AGT crew are amazing. I didn't have to go through anything by myself or alone. Anytime I ever had a problem, while I had to tell 'em what was going on, and they were, they were completely wonderful. The strangers in Pasadena were amazing. My wife, my Angie's right here with me, and she said, even the strangers were amazing, you know?
Venturing to California to try his luck on America’s Got Talent was even the singer’s first flight ever – at the age of 55. Nowadays, he’s getting used to travelling more, having just performed in Indio, California and Greensville, Pennsylvania and with more gigs on the horizon. The winner is currently also working on his own music, keeping his “voice up to shape” and looking forward to rooting for the next contestants on Season 20 of AGT.
