Richard Goodall hasn’t let winning the NBC reality competition change who he is.
The singing janitor is still the singing janitor.
“America’s Got Talent” Season 19 champ Richard Goodall may have won the most recent edition of the NBC show, but he remains on the job as a janitor at a middle school in Terre Haute, Indiana. While he received plenty of attention for his voice, he says he’s still the same person, noting he returned to his job as soon as his time on the show ended.
“I’m doing singing things, but I’m still at the school. I’m still a janitor,” Goodall, 55, tells TODAY.com.
“Not much has changed. I mean, I have a manager now, and at some point I’ll probably have to take a leave of absence for a while, and then assess and see if I would stay or start singing, but for the most part, other than singing out, I’m still the same person, same guy, not changed.”
Goodall, who’s worked as a school janitor for 23 years, says everyone in his school views him as just another person in the halls.
“I’m not saying that — I don’t want to say fame — but the fame is kind of wearing off, because they see me Monday through Friday,” he says.
“Everybody says hi and asks me how I’m doing and what’s going on in my life. They just see me all the time, so it’s kind of, you know, it’s just Richard,” he adds.
He may be “just Richard” back home, but he became a star on “AGT.” He burst on the scene when he earned the show’s Golden Buzzer with his scintillating cover of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” before he followed it up with his rendition of “How Am I Supposed to Live Without You” by Michael Bolton, helping him to emerge as a favorite to win the competition.
The road to victory, however, was a long time coming. Goodall initially tried out for the show in 2009, but he didn’t make the cut. He eventually tried out again, thanks to encouragement from his wife, Angela, whom he married several days prior to the Sept. 24 season finale.
“Not to coin the phrase from the show, but I didn’t stop believing. I kept on singing. I kept on pushing,” he says.
“AGT” flew him out to Los Angeles and put him up in a hotel. He was alone as his journey on the show — and to stardom — began. He kept to a budget using a supermarket club card to stock up on lunch meat and cottage cheese, which he kept in the mini-refrigerator in his room. He was anxious, but his nerves would melt away when his time to shine came.
“I was nervous as heck. You could just tell it,” he says. “The thing is, when the music starts, I’m good to go. That’s where my home is. And so, in the following rounds, I had Ange with me, and it was a little bit better, and was a little bit easier. And each round it got a little bit easier, because I was a little more confident.”
While Goodall is back to work, his singing career is about to take off. He’s performed the national anthem at multiple sporting events and will open for “AGT” judge Howie Mandel at a show in December. He says “regular concerts” will begin in January, noting that “things are starting to open up.” There are no plans to record an album right now, but he says he “would love to.”
“America’s Got Talent” is now looking for people to try out as it gets set for its upcoming 20th season, and Goodall thinks no one should balk at the opportunity.
If you thought hatchbacks were on the decline, think again. The Maruti Suzuki Baleno proved its dominance by taking the top spot as the best-selling vehicle in November, with a remarkable 16,293 units sold—a 26 per cent year-on-year growth. The Hyundai Creta climbed to second place, improving from its third-place finish in October, and continues to reign as the undisputed leader in the mid-size SUV segment. The Tata Punch and Tata Nexon made a strong comeback, securing the third and fourth positions, respectively. Meanwhile, the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga, which was the top seller in October, rounded out the top five. One of the biggest surprises was the Swift, which dropped to eighth place after finishing as the runner-up in October.
Maruti Suzuki Baleno
The Baleno saw a meteoric rise from 12,961 units in November 2023 to 16,293 units last month. With a 26 per cent hike YoY, the Baleno is the only hatchback in the top seven beating the Swift, and WagonR in the top 10 list. The Baleno continues to be the best-selling vehicle under the Nexa Experience brand.
The Baleno is powered by an 1197 cc petrol engine with an output of 88.5 bhp and 113 Nm of torque. It is mated to a 5-speed manual or an AMT. The CNG Baleno produces 76.4 bhp and 98.5 Nm, but only mated to the manual transmission.
