He eventually went on to take up his current role at a schoolhouse a few blocks down the road from his home, in Vigo County.
Speaking to Parade hours before an equally impressive performance of Michael Boltonâs âHow Am I Supposed to Live Without Youâ that saw him advance to the semis, Goodall revealed how he came to audition in the first place.
He also addressed recent comparisons heâs received to Scottish singer Susan Boyle, who famously rose to stardom following her own unlikely performance on Britainâs Got Talent in 2009.
âIâve been a janitor for 23 years,â Goodall began by saying, after first being congratulated for receiving a hard-earned, Heidi Klum-bestowed Gold Buzzer for his performance almost two months before.
âIâve sung to the kids for years,,, 2022 was the first time [a] teacher said, âDo you want to sing [on Americaâs Got Talent] this year?
âI was like, âYeah,ââ the USâs new favorite cleaner further recalled, before revealing he flamed out of the competition during the showâs fourth season in 2009.
Citing his background as an ââ80s kid music-wiseâ, he propositioned âDonât Stop Believinâ.
âTheyâre like, âHeck, yeahâ, he remembered â with the rest now well-recorded history.
Of his subsequent spell-binding performance thatâs since received several million views on YouTube, he said he was startled when he saw a familiar face in the audience.
âSo, I sang it and there was a teaching assistant out in the audience,â he revealed. âShe filmed it. That was a Thursday afternoon.â
âFriday morning,â he said, âIâm scrubbing the floor in the 1st grade, and they approached me.
She reportedly told him, âHey, we filmed you and put you on TikTok and itâs got 100,000 views.â
âI was like, âIs that good?ââ Goodall recalled.
âShe said, âUh-huh, yeah.â
By the end of the weekend, it was well over a million, he said.
Recollecting as his then-scheduled second appearance loomed large, the custodian continued to express surprise over the outsized reaction that first set rapidly received.
âBy the time it reached 3 million, Journey and Steve Perry commented,â he said, referring to the legendary arena rock bandâs reclusive frontman.
âSteve Perry, whoâs a recluse and doesnât say much at all, put me on all of his social media,â Goodall gushed.
âHis fans were commenting⊠If it was OK with Steve, then it was OK with them.â
He went on to reveal how it was a TikTok clip of him singing that got the attention of showrunners earlier this year, after which the showâs senior producer personally reached out him.
â[They] said, âHey, are you interested in being on the show?â Goodall recalled.
âFour months later, I got plane tickets on my phone and Iâm flying by the seat of my pants.
âI never had been on a plane, never been west of Missouri â and I wasnât ever expecting to, either and I was OK with that,â the school janitor admitted.
âIâve been all over the East Coast because I can drive there, but taking three or four days to drive out to California, it just wasnât on my radar. So, thatâs basically what happened.â
He then touched on being gifted a brand-new car by current country star Walker Hayes, one of many won over by his May 28 performance.
After seeing the video, Hayesâ manager reportedly reached out and invited Goodall to one of his concerts,
âSo, the wheels were turning, I didnât know anything about this,â the custodian continued, revealing his car â[is] not horrible but [also] not the greatest thing in the world.
âI had no clue and the Saturday before [my girlfriend] Angie [and I] left [to Los Angeles for the audition]⊠Walker pulled up in a brand new 2024.
He called the experience during his send-off from Terre Haute, his hometown, âsurrealâ â not only because of the run-in with the famous singer, but the fact the car was a Buick Encore.
âSo, to me, itâs kind of fitting,â he said in reference to his recent second chance. âI donât know if they planned it that way.â
Along for the ride this time, he said, is his girlfriend Angie â a victory in itself.
âItâs easier with her being here with me but Iâm just taking it as I can,â he said of his continued stay in LA with his longtime girlfriend as the competition persist.
âIâm just concentrating on the show, not concentrating on me, and weâll see what happens.â
âIf I donât make it into the next round,â he said, âIâve already won.
âHow many people in my area can say that theyâve done the things that Angie and I just did,â the grateful school staffer asserted, as he continues to receive offers for paid gigs and rub shoulders with celebrities.
He went on to air some of his plans for the $1million grand prize in the event he secures two more wins, before being asked about his studentsâ response to his newfound success.
The Parade reporter interviewing Goodall first pointed to how the janitor back in June said his dream was to get a Double-Wide Mobile Home and move to Florida with his girlfriend and their two dogs.
The interviewer went on to ask whether the desire would see the family travel across the country similar to how now-63-year-old Boyle appeared at concerts all over the world after her viral performances.
âSo, while youâre living in your double wide, would you still want to go around and perform?â the journalist asked, after comparing Goodallâs ability to that of Boyleâs
Goodall, in turn, responded: âSpeaking to that, a lot of British people have been doing the comparison.
âIf you dig a little deeper into Susan, sheâs still in her same house. She redid her house but sheâs still in the same house and, yes, sheâs made quite a big name for herself and sheâs worth money, but she still has stayed true to herself.
âIâm along those lines,â the janitor declared. âMy Angie wants a little bit better than a double wide, so weâll see how that works out.â
Ever-modest, he went on to express hopes for future performances.
âThereâs absolutely no way I can top what Iâve already done. All I can do is go in there and give the best performance I can and thatâs what I intend to do.â
Even without the sought-after Gold Buzzer, he would receive enough votes to advance to the semi-finals alongside country-rock band Ashes & Arrows and dog act Roni Sagi & Rhythm that same day





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Kane Brown and Katelyn Jae Brown, winners of Video of the Year for âThank God,â speak onstage during the 2023 CMT Music Awards at Moody Center on April 02, 2023 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images for CMT)


