Richard Goodall, the singing janitor, appeared on America’s Got Talent wearing his typical janitor attire, which was appropriate given how clean his voice is! As a creative and surprising way to start his semifinal performance, the 55-year-old sang the first verse of Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger” in a soulful a cappella style.
Goodall is well-liked by the public, and his most recent performance, which was posted just last week on September 12, 2024, did not let them down. Before really bringing it on and tearing up the song with the iconic guitar riff that usually opens it, he played the first chorus of the ’80s hit in a piano rock style. Readers of will remember that the rock hit contains some very high notes, but Goodall effortlessly hit them all, both high and low.
It’s important to acknowledge Goodall’s ability to personalize the beloved song in addition to his outstanding vocal performance. Not only did he alter the musical arrangement, but he also added new parts that weren’t in the original vocal performance and truly infused his own style into the vocals. A singer has true talent when they can add their own unique touch to a song like that. The new parts were also really well-executed.
When Goodall brought the song to a triumphant close, the audience was on the verge of tearing the roof off the place. Judge Heidi Klum yelled over the crowd, “Are you kidding me right now?,” obviously enthused by the energy in the room. Fantastic performance! To be honest, I didn’t think you could surpass your previous performance, but you did! With his audition earlier this year, Goodall produced one of the greatest hits in AGT history, which has amassed 25 million views so far.
Viewers responded to his “Eye of the Tiger” performance with comments like “I came back to AGT because of Richard Goodall!” demonstrating this connection. AGT was supposed to be a regular guy with undeveloped natural talent who wasn’t trained or only loosely professional. I’m voting for him! “To be honest, I’m excited about this. It’s absolutely fantastic to consider that the AGT idol for this year might be a 55-year-old school janitor.