America’s Got Talent’s Singing Janitor Joins Big Jim’s House for a Heartwarming Interview
It’s one of the wonderful stories that began at a 5th grade graduation ceremony and ending with a singing janitor winning America’s Got Talent. His name is Richard Goodall from Indiana, and here’s the original viral video that started it all (as he told us later, this was something he’d done every year for the 5th grade class and he decided to change it up and encourage the kids to “Don’t Stop Believin”)
Going Viral – What happened next
Richard was floored when the video went viral on social media (even Journey AND Steve Perry took notice and commented on it) – Richard <a href="http://<iframe src="https://omny.fm/shows/big-jims-house-podcast/the-singing-janitor-from-agt-richard-goodall/embed" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write" width="100%" height="180" frameborder="0" title="The Singing Janitor from AGT – Richard Goodall">joined us back in 2022 to talk about what happened:
Going on America’s Got Talent – Scary And Therapeutic
When Richard auditioned for America’s Got Talent, he had NEVER been on a plane before – so when they invited him out to Los Angeles…that was a new experience as well. Richard had already gone through a lot over the past couple of years, losing his wife Patty in 2021 to cancer.
“When you’re married for so long and they pass away and you’ve got that void there, your biggest concern is figuring out who you are without them,” he told the Indianapolis Star “And music was the bridge again”.
The week before the finale, he married his fiancée, Angie Vanoven, with his “AGT” family in attendance. He announced on Facebook that they are now Richard and Angela VanGoodall.
One More AGT Surprise – Journey
Richard’s “Journey” (see what we did there?) wasn’t complete – he gets the golden buzzer from Heidi Klum, then made it to the finals where he performed Don’t Stop Believin’ on stage with Journey. Long way from a 5th grade assembly in Terre Haute, Indiana. There are a lot of moments on reality TV that don’t ring true (staged or otherwise), but watching this humble man on stage in front of the nation brought a smile. Enjoy the moment. Live your best life. Don’t Stop Believin’.
