Richard Goodall: AGT Season 19 Winner Talks Journey, Fame, and What’s Next

[00:00:09] Richard, thank you for joining me today on Pop Culture Unplugged.

[00:00:13] Richard Goodall Thank you, sir. Thank you for inviting me.

[00:00:16] Richard Goodall Congrats, my friend. AGT Winner. How has life changed you since that incredible moment?

[00:00:21] Richard Goodall I mean, I'm getting to fly and sing some places, but, you know, I'm still working at the school. I'm still the same guy. You know, pretty much, you know, I'm, you know, just, I'm just me. I'm not, I'm not changed.

[00:00:39] Richard Goodall Still, like I said, I'm still at the school kids see me Monday through Friday. No big deal.

[00:00:44] Richard Goodall Can you take us back a little bit about the audition? What was going through your mind when you stepped on the stage for the first time?

[00:00:50] Richard Goodall Oh, I was scared out of my wits. I was by myself. My, my fiance back then, but my wife now, we didn't have enough money for her to fly.

[00:01:03] Richard Goodall So it was just me all alone out there in, you know, L.A., Pasadena area. And it's big. It's huge. There's a lot of people out there.

[00:01:13] Richard Goodall And, you know, you're trying out for, you know, you're on the biggest stage in the world, talent stage in the world. And then, you know, me being who I am. And if you watch the video again, what you see is what you get. I'm just a regular person, you know.

[00:01:31] Richard Goodall And yeah, I got up there and my thing is, is talking to the judges and them telling me what they thought. That was the unnerving part in the audition round.

[00:01:43] Richard Goodall But you can tell when the music started, I was fine. Yeah, I, you know, music is my home, so I'm fine. And then once, once the music ended, I went back into shell mode. So you can tell by the video.

[00:01:57] Richard Goodall Yeah. What inspired you to audition? What was it like, you know, months before that? Was there something that just happened? You're like, you know what, I'm going to go for it. Like, it was a combination between the kids and my wife. My wife, once they put those plane tickets on my phone, she said, you got to go. You know, I'm not going to be able to go with you. So you're just going to have to do it. You're going to have to put your big boy pants on and go and do it. So, and I did. And, you know, look what happened. I mean, I never,

[00:02:27] I never dreamed. I was just going to fly out there, sing a song, fly home. And, you know, hopefully they put a YouTube video out there of me and I could say that I tried out once.

[00:02:37] Richard Goodall Never did I ever dream a German supermodel was going to come up and hug me and throw gold dust all over me. I never, ever, ever dreamed that. Never.

[00:02:46] Richard Goodall Right. And this is going to be something you're going to remember for the rest of your life.

[00:02:48] Richard Goodall Oh, yeah. Yeah. And I mean, it's all over YouTube. Anytime somebody would even remotely say, Hey, you know, Oh yeah, you're just blowing off steam. No, no, check it out. Here it is. It's me.

[00:03:02] Richard Goodall Your story also has inspired so many, you know, what's been like now, like the reaction from like, you know, your family, friends, coworkers, your community about your whole journey?

[00:03:12] Richard Goodall Well, like I said, if I can do it, anybody can go up there and try out and do it. You know, and yeah, I mean, I went to Riverside, California for the festival of lights out there. And people out there were just connecting with me. I mean, I had a lady come up and say that she was, you know, cleaning in hotels.

[00:03:35] Richard Goodall And she did something and, and tried for a better position in the hotel. And, you know, and she said, you know, watching your video inspired me thinking, you know, that if you can do that, then I can, you know, I can try out for that next step.

[00:03:52] Richard Goodall And so I never, I mean, winning was a great, wonderful thing, but it's for me, it's more about music and people and just inspiring people was an awesome byproduct of the whole thing.

[00:04:12] Richard Goodall You mentioned, you know, like, you know, like the performance moved a lot of people in your life and all over the world to like, how did you choose and decide like what songs you wanted to perform? It was there a specific song that always resonated with you?

[00:04:23] Richard Goodall Well, it'd have to be Don't Stop Believin' and just the words itself. You know, I had tried out in 2009, I had tried out for The Voice and got to the third round of The Voice.

[00:04:36] Richard Goodall I had been asked to come on game shows and they were all filmed overseas. What you see is what you get. I don't have, I don't have a passport. So I'm not a world traveler.

[00:04:48] Richard Goodall So, you know, there was no, Don't Stop Believin' has actually just been a mantra for me, you know, I just, you know, if you, if you fail, if you, you know, don't make the cut, keep on singing, keep on trying.

[00:05:04] Richard Goodall And, you know, you never know who's out in the audience. I mean, the viral video that kind of started all this, you know, it was just a teaching assistant filming it and then Journey seen it and Steve Perry and then ultimately I ended up getting on the show. So, yeah.

[00:05:26] Richard Goodall For you, what do you think was the most challenging part competing in this?

[00:05:31] Richard Goodall The challenging part is the part that's not in your hands anymore. I could sing, I could sing 10 times. But that reveal show is, is the part that that is the most challenging, unnerving part because you've done your best you've done. I mean, in every single round, I did my best.

[00:05:52] Richard Goodall And then it's, it's up to the, it's up to the people out there in America to decide, you know, that if, you know, if you're worthy of moving on to the next round.

[00:06:04] Richard Goodall A few years ago, I had Shin Lin on He Won AGT that year. And one of the questions I asked him too, is like, when you're on the stage and you heard your name, as you recall out the winner, like what, what went through your mind?

[00:06:17] Richard Goodall Well, you got to stop and think. I had just got off the stage with Neil Sean and Journey. I met him and his wife, amazing people. And the rest of the Journey band. I was already in shock and awe. And then to be the fine down to the final two and ultimately win. I mean, just, you know, pinch me.

[00:06:45] Richard Goodall It just doesn't feel real. It feels very surreal. It really did.

[00:06:50] Richard Goodall What's next for you now? Like any exciting projects or collabs or like performances you got coming up?

[00:06:56] Richard Goodall Yeah, on the 28th, I'm actually opening up for Howie Mandel. Yeah, in, in Fantasy Springs. I think it's near Palm Springs, California. But it's Fantasy Springs Casino Resort. And then I have five concerts coming up next year.

[00:07:15] Richard Goodall One's in Ohio. And the other one's in Pennsylvania in January. I have three here in Indiana in April. Anderson, Wabash, and Lafayette, Indiana. So I mean, yeah, things are coming up. And that's just during the cold months when the warmer months come up, you know, all kinds of stuff is going to be possible.

[00:07:35] Richard Goodall I was told to ask you if you could perform with any artist at any venue, who would it be? And why?

[00:07:42] Richard Goodall Well, I think my answer would pretty much shock you because I've already done with Journey. I don't think Steve Perry performs anymore. But I think my answer will shock you because before Journey and Steve Perry come on the scene, my favorite singer was Barry Manilow.

[00:08:01] Richard Goodall So, yeah. So I would love to, you know, go to one of his shows, you know, or, or, you know, get up there and sing one of his, you know, great belting out songs. So but yeah, that's how I started out was Barry Manilow. And then I heard the Journey stuff when I was hooked.

[00:08:17] Richard Goodall What's one advice you would give to like aspiring performers and any art that want to go for AGT? What, what's one key advice that you give them?

[00:08:25] Richard Goodall Keep trying. Don't stop believing. I mean, you know, like I said, if I can do it, if I can get on AGT auditions and go in there and try out and make it, then anybody can. It's not just the, the Vegas acts, the people that are polished and, you know, look slick.

[00:08:47] Richard Goodall I can remember telling my music producer, you know, hey, these people are all slicked up and they've got outfits on. If you look, go back and look at my audition, I was just wearing my regular clothes, you know, and if I can get up there and do it and try out and make it, anybody can. But you just got to keep on plugging. You got to keep pushing and don't stop believing.

[00:09:12] Richard Goodall Amazing. Have you heard anything about performing, about coming back in, for the AGT champions where they all perform? Would you go, would you jump in that?

[00:09:20] Richard Goodall Well, season 20 is coming up. That's a pretty big season, you know, I mean, you know, 20 years of excellence that this and the people that are behind the scenes are absolutely amazing. I can't, I can't credit them enough.

[00:09:38] But, I mean, yeah, if I got offered to be on one of the spinoffs, absolutely, yeah. It's just been fun and amazing.

[00:09:49] Richard, let's end this by helping the listeners, the viewers now find your social media keep up with you. I noticed you've been posting, you know, a few videos of your travels through the country.

[00:09:57] Richard Goodall Yeah, Facebook with the blue checkmark. I've also got an Instagram and a TikTok. I don't do much with X. I'm on there, but I don't do much with X. So but those are the places that you can find me. And so yeah, just hopefully this spring and summer and fall, next upcoming, I'll be in a town near you, maybe at a fair or festival, you know, you never know.

[00:10:24] Richard, I want to thank you for giving me a few minutes today and good luck and we'll see you on the tours.

[00:10:29] Thank you, Elias.

[00:10:30] Thank you. Have a good day.