The landmark Season 20 premiere of America’s Got Talent may be a ways away on the 2025 TV schedule, but we’re still flying high on the show after an excellent Season 19. Last year’s edition of the competition show introduced the world to the “singing janitor,” Richard Goodall, who was crowned AGT's champion back in September. When CinemaBlend spoke to the AGT winner, he talked to us about how his life has changed since going viral and what it's like being known as "America's Susan Boyle."
Richard Goodall was a favorite of ours on the series, as we hoped he would go all the way on AGT last year. I recently spoke with Goodall, during which we discussed several topics, including the "sadness" surrounding the recent LA wildfires as well as their impact on recent AGT auditions. Amid our chat, I asked the talented singer what he wished he could have said on finale night after being chosen by the fans. Goodall said he did the “best” he could in the moment, but here’s what comes to mind:
The support that people threw behind me – I never even remotely expected it. I mean, coming into the audition rounds, I flew out there by myself 'cause we didn't have the money for Ang to fly out to [California]. And so, just the initial reaction because the audition was filmed two months before it actually aired. So, I knew what was going on, but nobody else knew. And then when it finally hit the nation, I went from being able to walk around and do whatever I wanted to having to stop every 10 feet at Walmart here in town.
When Richard Goodall made the journey from Indiana to California for his audition about a year ago now, it was his first plane flight ever. At the time, he had no expectations to become Season 19's winner, but he sure did it. Nowadays, Goodall is famous, and being stopped all the time for his memorable run on the show. He continued:
[The response] is everything, the whole range of messages and oddly enough, it's not just been America. It's been all over the world. I've gotten messages from everywhere and over in the U.K. They were calling me America's Susan Boyle. I had people messaging me saying 'I kind of put myself out of the pasture, and then I saw you get up there and, and do it, and thought to myself, I'm gonna try for this, or I'm gonna start this up again.' And, that means a lot. I think in this day and age, people need some kind of hope, something to grab onto, to say there's a chance for anything out there.
Richard Goodall told me that after his big win, he feels like “there’s room for the common person” and, in his daily interactions with fans, he sees that he’s given more people hope to get out there and share their talents no matter who they are. How incredible must it feel to perhaps be the reason someone takes up a hobby or talent again simply because you’ve helped them feel seen? Get a sense of Goodall's journey in the video below:
And, as the singer shared, the response has been so massive that it’s not just America who are sharing their support for him. As he mentioned, some people in the U.K. are likening him to Britain’s Got Talent contestant Susan Boyle, who ended up selling 25 million records following her own viral moment with Simon Cowell and the competition's panel. When reflecting on his time on AGT further, Goodall also said this:
Music has always been my wheelhouse, but did I think that I was all that and did I think that I have all that confidence? Absolutely not… And I never dreamed that a German supermodel was gonna come up and hug me and throw gold dust all over me. Never. No, not even remotely. I was just gonna fly out there and sing a song and fly home and have a nice little YouTube video to show somebody. If somebody said, ‘Oh no, you were never on the show.’ I could prove it. Never did I ever dream that everything that happened was gonna happen. Never in a million years.
Richard Goodall just sounds so humbled and grateful for his experience on AGT. The singer, who famously wowed the judges and viewers with his renditions of “Don’t Stop Believin’”, “Faithfully” and “Eye of the Tiger” during his run on the show has been starting to earn gigs around the nation since his win and is currently working on his own music. He has such a fantastic story, and you can relive his journey on AGT now by streaming episodes with a Peacock subscription.
