Richard Goodall is a middle school janitor from Indianapolis. He performed the cover of Don’t Stop Believin, on the AGT stage that left judge Heidi mesmerized. After the episode aired, Richard told that the same day that he was shocked to find out that he was going straight to the live shows. Richard shared that he was overwhelmed with a mix of emotions:

“Golden Buzzer [winners] are an elite group of people. I never in a million years expected to be in that class. And I still can’t believe Heidi did that!”

Before heading to perform, Richard told the cameras that he sings in his free time mostly for the middle school kids at West Vigo Middle School. They were the ones who encouraged his dreams and pushed him to share his talent with the world.

Below is one of Richard Goodall’s unexpected duets with a female guest at a bar in the song Don’t Stop Believin’ that helped his talent be recognized.

Richard Goodall revealed he has been working as a janitor for the past 23 years. Richard started his job at the Chauncey Rose Middle School which was close to his home in Terre Haute. While cleaning the tables and floors, Richard used to sing and the kids loved his voice. They helped him realize that he needed to put his passion for music out in the world:

“I’m not a fancy person. I take out the trash. I wipe off the tables, I sweep the floors. I’m just having fun and I’m trying to make people happy,” Richard added.

“I’m a normal person who does regular things for people. My singing, I have done mostly every year in our schools. Anytime they have asked me to sing I did it. To this day, I know how lucky I am. And I’m not taking any of this for granted.”