Just a man and his will to survive … and make it to next week’s America’s Got Talent finals.
On Wednesday’s semifinal episode of AGT, fan-favorite singer Richard Goodall proved just how much he wanted to stay in the competition by choosing to cover the ultimate fighting song: Survivor‘s “Eye of the Tiger,” the theme from Rocky III.
He rose to the occasion of the classic track — a six-week No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1982 — by squeezing every ounce of drama out of it, opting for a slowed-down a cappella intro before forging into the famous chorus with a full band behind him. Fiery graphics and pyrotechnics lit up the stage behind him as the 55-year-old singer nailed Jim Peterik’s sky-high vocal riffs for the pumped-up crowd.
And it worked: We learned on Thursday night’s (Sept. 12) episode that Goodall is one of six contestants moving forward to next week’s finals, before the season 19 AGT winner is crowned Sept. 24.
The judges were in the palm of Goodall’s hand following his Survivor cover, with Simon Cowell saying, “There’s something ironic about the fact that you’ve chosen a real underdog song, and you are like the underdog in a way, but in a really positive way. And it was like you just got to the top of the steps,” he said, referencing Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky running up the famous Philadelphia Museum of Art stairs. “I love that!”
Sofia Vergara added, “I love that you picked such an iconic song. The people love you. It was amazing. I’m so happy for you. Enjoy this,” while Howie Mandel praised Goodall’s warmth throughout this season: “I’m pumped but not as big as the heart this guy has. You have the biggest heart in this whole competition. We feel the love, and we love you.”
But no one was more pumped up than Heidi Klum, who simply asked Goodall after the song: “Are you kidding me right now? Epic performance. I thought that you could not top what you did last time, but you topped it. America, you have to vote for Richard!”
America clearly listened, and you can catch Goodall on next week’s final performance episode, airing Sept. 17 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.
Watch Goodall’s “Eye of the Tiger” performance below: