America’s Got Talent crowned its Season 19 winner last night, and Heidi Klum sure knows how to pick them.
At the conclusion of the reality TV competition’s season finale, host Terry Crews stood on stage with two contestants: Roni Sagi & Rhythm, and Richard Goodall.
Richard Goodall’s first-ever plane trip was to the auditions for Season 19 of AGT, and he instantly captured fans’ hearts with his soulful covers of 1980s power ballads.
Richard famously nabbed Heidi’s “Golden Buzzer,” wowing the judging panel and the audience alike before last night’s finale.
Terry began to announce the winner, leading into an extremely tense pause that felt like it went on forever (it lasted for just over 40 seconds, which is quite a long time when you know millions of people are watching).
Richard Goodall took the title, and performed his audition song, “Don’t Stop Believin’,” along with Neal Schon and members of the band Journey:
For once, the YouTube comments section was overflowing with positive, happy energy.
One user wrote: “How can you not be happy for this man? One of the coolest things [I’ve] seen this year.”
As AGT’s Season 19 winner, Richard will bring home $1 million, and a 2024 Kia EV9.
Richard was clearly shocked, and wept openly as AGT’s iconic gold confetti rained down.
Heidi bolted up to the stage to hug him, and they hugged like old summer camp friends in an adorable moment.
Terry spoke, asking Richard how winning felt, and Richard immediately quoted Simon Cowell.
As we’ve previously reported, Simon is fond of saying that “two minutes” can change a person’s life, and he indeed said that earlier this season:
“I always say this, and it’s happened — two minutes really can change your life. So let’s see what you can do.”
Richard answered Terry’s question, repeating Simon’s words:
Simon says two minutes can change your life.
My life has been transformed.
Goodall, 55, married now-wife Angie in the week before the AGT finale.
After winning AGT, Richard gave an interview to Entertainment Weekly to discuss life after the show.
EW asked him about how he “really connected” with Heidi – as their hugging evidenced – and about his choice of song.
The outlet also asked Richard if he planned to return to his day job as a janitor in Terre Haute.
Richard has been described as an “everyman,” and his answer was on brand:
“I mean, yeah, I plan to for a while still yet, and then invest a little, and then plan smart. Angela and I, we think everything out together. We don’t make any plans other than what we talk about together.
“We’re not fancy people, so it’s not going to be anything fancy or extravagant. We’re just regular people and the money is … we just try to be conservative about it. We have no idea or expectations of what’s coming ahead.”
He said “we’re not fancy people,” which, honestly, same.
