After winning the $1 million prize, singing Indiana janitor Richard Goodall tells PEOPLE he feels like he’s in a “dream that I don’t want to wake up from”
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There’s a new America’s Got Talent winner in town!
After weeks of intense competition, Richard Goodall, the singing janitor from Terre Haute, Indiana, who earned one of judge Heidi Klum’s Golden Buzzers, was declared the season 19 winner on Tuesday, Sept. 24.
Goodall, 55, walked away with the title and the grand prize of $1 million — as well as a new wife, which he revealed during Tuesday’s finale.
“My brain is just absolutely mush at this point. Surreal doesn’t even cover what has happened,” Goodall told PEOPLE after his win. “This has been an absolute rollercoaster and now it has ended with absolute golden dust flying everywhere.”
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Prior to the exciting moment, Goodall was already on cloud nine as he got to perform “Don’t Stop Believin’” — the same song he originally auditioned with — alongside members of Journey. Things got better for the Indiana resident when he confirmed that he had recently gotten married to his partner, Ang.
“The audition, I was flying out by the seat of my pants. Never been on a plane, never been west of Missouri, and I was just going to fly out, sing a song, fly back home, and maybe tell somebody I was on the show and have a little YouTube video like everyone else,” Goodall explained to PEOPLE. “Never dreamed [of this].”
“There’s bucket lists and then there’s top-shelf bucket lists,” he added. “You didn’t even know it was up there on top of the shelf. This is absolute, a bucket list [item] that I couldn’t even [think] of or dreamed.”
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As the finale continued on, the 10 finalists — Goodall, Brent Street, Sky Elements, Learnmore Jonasi, Sebastian & Sonia, Dee Dee Simon, Solange Kardinaly, Hakuna Matata Acrobats, Rhythm and Roni and AIRFOOTWORKS — dwindled down, with host Terry Crews announcing the top five acts.
Taking those places were Goodall, Jonasi, Kardinaly, Sky Elements and Rhythm and Roni. Then, Terry continued on, revealing comedian Jonasi had finished in fifth place, quick change artist Kardinaly was in fourth place and drone show specialists Sky Elements landed in third place.
With the final two acts left standing, audiences were on the edge of the seat to find out who would win the ultimate title. Finally, Terry revealed Goodall was the winner.
“People say this all the time, but it means everything to Ang and I,” Goodall told PEOPLE after the exciting moment, referencing his now-wife. “It gives us a chance and an opportunity to do something different, get a nice house and give back to people.”
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Added Klum: “I’m beyond excited for him. I know this will change his life. He got married … and all of America has fallen in love with him, and also now he’s going home as this amazing hero back to his town and his school. I’m sure he’s still going to continue doing his job because I feel like that is just the man that he is, loving his job and loving the kids that he sees every day and the teachers.”
When asked about the first thing that Ang told him after his win, Goodall quipped, “She said, ‘I’m getting my house… and a washer dryer!’”
On a serious note, he added: “She means the world to me. I couldn’t have made it through this without her. I mean, it was hard enough to do the audition round without her, and then when we got into the quarters, she was with me every single time.”
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Despite having the AGT title under his belt, Goodall said he intends to go back to work as a janitor at Chauncey Rose Middle School — but only “for a little while.”
“Then we’ll see what opportunities come our way and then Angie and I will make those decisions together,” he said, adding of the prize money, “We intend to invest some and then get a nice house and then just see what opportunities come our way.”
For now, Goodall is simply soaking up every moment of his AGT experience.
“This whole week has just been an absolute dream,” he said. “An absolute dream that I don’t want to wake up from.”
