America’s Got Talent season 19 officially began airing on NBC, and one contestant has already managed to blow the judges away in a moment that left everyone emotional.
During the May 28 season premiere episode, viewers met Richard Goodall, a janitor hailing from Indiana who went on his first flight for the audition. When he took the stage to sing a cover of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’,” he told judges Simon Cowell, Sofía Vergara, Heidi Klum and Howie Mandel he was nervous about singing in front of a large group of people. This led to the audience applauding for Richard’s performance, giving him the confidence to begin singing his prepared track.
Richard quickly shocked everyone in the audience by delivering a show-stopping and emotional audition. After he finished singing, the crowd — and the judges — immediately gave him a standing ovation. While the judges all had incredible feedback for him, it was Heidi who had the best response for Richard. She gave him a Golden Buzzer, sending him straight to the season 19 live shows.
“Richard, Richard, Richard, you knocked me off my feet,” she told him in a clip posted on YouTube. “We all had the best time with you up there on that stage. I really, really feel something when I see you up there and hear you up there. And now, this is what I’m going to do for you because I love you.”
Just like Heidi, viewers at home were wowed by the incredible performance, and they took to the comments to let Richard know.
“I’m not crying. You’re crying! 60 year old man here. Way to go young man! I believe each of us has a ‘golden buzzer moment’ in us. Don’t stop believing!” one person wrote on YouTube. “So glad someone convinced this man to board a plane for the first time in his life. Thank you whoever you are!” another declared. “This was a well deserved Golden Buzzer. The voice that came out of his mouth was ridiculously good. It’s only up from here sir! 🙌,” a different fan added.
If the audience’s reaction wasn’t enough, when Richard spoke to People after the audition aired, he still was in shock by how he fared in the competition.
“Golden Buzzer [winners] are an elite group of people. I never in a million years expected to be in that class,” he told the outlet. “And I still can’t believe Heidi did that!”
Excuse us while we replay Richard’s audition over and over again.
