Winners of the 19th season of “America’s Got Talent” announced

Warning: This article contains spoilers for the finale of America's Got Talent Season 19.

After countless impressive performances and millions of votes, America's Got Talent Viewers voted singer Richard Goodall as the winner of season 19. The school janitor from Terre Haute, Indiana, won hearts, including that of judge Heidi Klum, and inspired audiences with his earnest covers of Journey, Michael Bolton and Survivor.

Throughout the season, Goodall earned praise from Klum and fellow judges Simon Cowell, Howie Mandel and Sofia Vergara for his obvious passion for singing power ballads and '80s rock songs. In fact, Goodall explained that he had spent 23 years singing songs at the top of his lungs while cleaning, and that it was the students who suggested he audition.

Although he went viral during the season and received an early Golden Buzzer from Klum, Goodall says Weekly entertainment He was “completely and totally surprised” to beat out comedian Learnmore Jonasi, transformation artist Solange Kardinaly, dog dance artist Roni Sagi and Rhythm, as well as six other finalists.

“It's been a wild, wonderful rollercoaster ride,” says Goodall, noting that only the show part is over. “But I haven't really felt the actual impact afterward. I haven't really understood it yet. I really haven't.”

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: You and Heidi have a good connection. What do you appreciate about her?

RICHARD GOODALL: She was always my hero. I mean, on all four songs, and she was just always so incredible to me. But everyone, all the people behind the scenes – [plus] Simon, Howie and Sophia — all the kids who show me around here AGT Campus.

What are your plans? Do you want to continue working as a caretaker?

I mean, yes, I plan to do it for a while, and then invest a little bit and then plan wisely. [His wife] Angela and I think everything through together. We don't make any plans other than the ones we discuss together. We're not fancy people, so it won't be anything fancy or extravagant. We're just normal people and the money is… we're just trying to be conservative with it. We have no idea or expectations of what's coming.

What is it about 80s music that fascinates you so much? Were there songs you wanted to cover but ultimately decided not to?

I don't want to take away from the music of today in any way, but the music of that era… I mean, there are still people who sample music from that era.

I don't know if it was… I wouldn't use the word innocence, but it was different. Look at when I sang “Don't Stop Believing.” The kids sing that stuff now and “Eye of the Tiger.”

For me, the music back then was simply different than it is today.

There were a lot of songs I would have loved to do. The hard part is getting the songwriters' approval and then actually practicing them and putting them to music in a way that we can make them our own.

And what do you want to do in the future? Will there be albums or tours?

I really have no expectations of what's next. This is the first time in my life and Angie's that everything is pretty uncertain. Not in a bad way, but in a good way. And we're open to all possibilities, musically or otherwise. Whatever comes our way, Ange and I will talk about it and see what's right for us and go from there. Yeah, I'd love to sing music all over America or something. And I think the most important thing – and we've already accomplished that in some ways – is to inspire people not to give up on their dreams, to keep going, not to give up hope and to wait for better days. Because there's a lot going on in this world right now and people just need a little bit of hope and kindness and tenderness. I think in this day and age, that's kind of been lost.

Was there another act that you were particularly excited about and who was it?

If you look at my Facebook you'll see that I've been in touch with many of the acts on the show. It's hard to go through each stage of the show and not interact with other people. Early on I had taken photos with the Los Osos. [High School] children, and they recently lost one of their members, which was… horrible. It broke my heart when they were voted out, and they were [pitting me] against them, but as you saw if you saw my Facebook, I took pictures with them.

I thought [Solange Kardinaly] was talented a pretty impressive opponent on the show, but everybody, the talent at the end was tremendous… It's tough to see people go, but that's the nature of the show. I mean, there can only be one winner. So I was the winner at the end. I still don't get it, but when I was a regular guy singing for the kids for 23 years, then suddenly you're in the spotlight. It's weird. It's fun, but it's weird.

Is there anything I didn't ask about that you'd like to mention?

I have more contact with the people behind the scenes than with anyone else because I know what they do every day. But the whole AGT Family has been wonderful and supportive. Every time I walk past, they either shake hands or [bump] ankles as we walk by. The cast party at the end of the show was just absolutely amazing.

This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.

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