Terre Haute janitor Richard Goodall on journey to his stunning America's Got Talent audition

Before Richard Goodall took the America’s Got Talent stage, there was one judge he told producers he just did not want to talk to: Simon Cowell.

So, naturally, the notoriously biting former “American Idol” judge was picked to introduce Goodall to a packed Los Angeles theater on March 28. Goodall had taken the first plane trip of his life to make it to the audition, and he was staying in Pasadena on a shoestring budget. As he stood before judges Cowell, Sofia Vergara, Heidi Klum and Howie Mandel, the 54-year-old school janitor from Terre Haute was visibly anxious.

“You a bit nervous?” Cowell asked.

Goodall nodded: “This has been a long time coming.”

“We’re here, we’re rooting for you, Richard. Good luck,” Cowell said before turning to his fellow judges and adding, “I hope he’s good."

If you’ve watched the viral moment that aired on Tuesday night, you know what happens from there. Goodall, affectionately known as Mr. Richard to the kids in the Vigo County school district where he’s worked for the last 23 years, brings the crowd to their feet with a blazing performance of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’.”

Klum gave him a Golden Buzzer, which passes him straight to the live shows, starting in August, where viewers will decide his fate. Based on the thousands of messages he says he's received from fans around the world, he seems to be an early favorite.

His audition aired two months to the day after it was taped. On Thursday, Goodall was cleaning lockers at West Vigo Middle School.

"You can take so much love," he told IndyStar. "My gosh, how do you give it all back other than just singing and doing what you do?"

Richard Goodall's lifelong love of music

Goodall said he used to sit at home with his RadioShack stereo, belting along so loudly his mom would tap the ceiling downstairs with a broom to try and quiet him down.

"I love all kinds of music," he said. In fact, the first song he ever felt he nailed wasn't from the Journey catalog — it was Barry Manilow's "I Write the Songs."

"I love those songs that are smooth at the beginning and have a slow build and then at the end you're just belting it out," he said.

Goodall started performing at karaoke nights in the 1990s, he said, and eventually on the contest circuit with local radio stations, primarily singing country and gospel. He stuck with the latter for several years, performing as part of two gospel trios, until the COVID-19 pandemic put everything on pause. Then, in June 2021, his wife, Patty, died of 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 said. "And music was the bridge again."

Goodall's viral 2022 TikTok got Steve Perry's attention — and AGT's

This isn’t the first time Goodall has gone viral for his performance of the 1981 rock classic.

A clip of him performing at a school talent show was posted to TikTok in 2022 and has since amassed more than 3 million views. Journey shared the clip on their official TikTok account and the video Goodall posted to his personal account received a supportive comment from former frontman Steve Perry himself.

That performance first caught the eye of America's Got Talent producers more than a year ago, Goodall told IndyStar, but for whatever reason, his first opportunity to join the show for Season 18, which ran from May to September of last year, didn't pan out. So, he deleted the producer's number and moved on with his life.

Then, Mandel reposted the video last September with the caption "Needs to be on agt."

Goodall wouldn't let himself get excited about it this time, he said, until the flight was booked and he had tickets in hand. Even then, it didn't seem real. The audition lined up perfectly with the school district's spring break, so he didn't have to miss work, and a friend offered to drive him to the Indianapolis airport and care for his three chihuahuas during his five-day trip.

Once Goodall landed in LA, the experience was surreal.

"I was more than a fish out of water," he said. "I was an amoeba out of a fish out of water."

Production paid for his flight and accommodations and a $25 per diem for food. The first night, he walked half a mile to a nearby Whole Foods and bought a pound of lunch meat, a loaf of bread, two cartons of cottage cheese, some bottled water and mayo and mustard. Sightseeing wasn't an option, since cabs and attractions were too expensive. So, to pass the time, he walked around the area."They take so good care of their old buildings," he said. "City Hall is absolutely gorgeous, their post office — the leaded glass is beautiful."

And on his free Wednesday evening, he used his per diem to treat himself to a spaghetti dinner.

"I had all these fancy people — Gucci purses and Hilfiger, you could tell these people had money — and here I am, sitting like a king on this sidewalk with my wonderful spaghetti and meatballs and garlic shrimp. ... I was on top of the world."

A GoFundMe has been created to help offset the cost of his anticipated 10-day trip to Los Angeles to compete in the live shows — and to allow his fiancée, Angie, to travel with him.

'I'm going to give it my all' on America's Got Talent

On Thursday, after cleaning out lockers at the middle school, Goodall was headed to his second job, cleaning the office of a local fence company. Whatever happens next with America's Got Talent, he said, he's already had an amazing experience.

"I don't have any expectations of winning the show," he said. "I'm going to give it my all and I'm going to try to be the best competitor that I can be."

If he does win, he plans on continuing to live as normal a life as possible. He says he'd use the $1 million prize to buy a double-wide trailer in a senior living community in Florida and enjoy retirement — with the occasional pasta and seafood dinner. "I'm not a fancy person," he said.

With all the negativity in the world today, he's glad to be of inspiration to the people who have connected with his story of capturing the Golden Buzzer.

"I think people just need something — anything — just something to realize that not everything's bad," he said. "I have my bad days just like everybody else, but we're still here, we're still fighting, we're still kicking."

America's Got Talent airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on NBC and can be streamed the following day on Peacock.

GoFundMe to support Richard Goodall

To give to the GoFundMe created to support Goodall during his trip to compete in America's Got Talent, visit bit.ly/4c08uj3.

Contact IndyStar pop culture reporter Holly Hays at [email protected]. Follow her on X/Twitter: @hollyvhays.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Richard Goodall reacts to America's Got Talent golden buzzer