A singing janitor from Indiana won Season 19 of “America’s Got Talent” during Tuesday’s finale.
Richard Goodall, who had never been on an airplane before becoming a contestant on the NBC reality competition show, beat dance duo Roni Sagi & Rhythm to earn the show’s coveted $1-million prize and a new car.
“Simon [Cowell] says two minutes can change your life. My life has been transformed and I did it,” Goodall said after streamers came down onstage to congratulate the winner. He was joined onstage by Cowell and his fellow judges Heidi Klum, Sofía Vergara and Howie Mandel, as well as host Terry Crews.
Students at the Terre Haute, Ind., elementary school where Goodall worked for 23 years encouraged him to audition for “AGT.” He has been a favorite of Klum, who awarded him the rare Golden Buzzer in a May audition episode after he sang Journey’s classic “Don’t Stop Believin’.” The musical moment came full circle during the finale when Goodall was given the opportunity to perform the 1981 hit with Journey co-founder Neal Schon and members of the band.
Goodall had a penchant for performing 1980s power ballads throughout the season, belting covers of Michael Bolton’s “How Am I Supposed to Live Without You,” Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger” and Journey’s “Faithfully” during the competition.
At 56, Goodall became the oldest contestant to win “America’s Got Talent.” He displaced singing impressionist and ventriloquist Terry Fator, who was 42 when he won Season 2 of the competition in 2007.
Earlier this season, “AGT” broke an unlikely Guinness World Record: the record for the most people wearing underwear on their heads for at least one minute.
