{"id":35196,"date":"2026-05-08T06:36:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T06:36:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/europe\/35196\/"},"modified":"2026-05-08T06:36:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T06:36:09","slug":"i-had-to-learn-to-speak-and-sing-again-delta-goodrems-road-to-eurovision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/europe\/35196\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I had to learn to speak and sing again\u2019: Delta Goodrem\u2019s road to Eurovision"},"content":{"rendered":"

The fact that Australia \u2013 a nation 10,000 miles away from its European not-so neighbours \u2013 is an honorary entrant into the Eurovision Song Contest<\/a> is one of many bizarre, brilliant and frankly bonkers things about the whole extravaganza.<\/p>\n

The Aussie audience were rewarded for their collective enthusiasm and time zone-restricted viewing dedication when, in 2015, their country was invited to take part in the annual theatrics \u2013 and, this year, they have persuaded a national treasure to represent them. So long as she makes it through the semi-final, Delta Goodrem<\/a> will be taking to the stage in Vienna to perform her suitably Eurovision-esque power ballad \u201cEclipse\u201d in the grand final next weekend.<\/p>\n

As fun and OTT an experience as it all is, the possibility of nul (or few) points is mortifying for any act, let alone an established performer (just ask Olly Alexander or Bonnie Tyler). But, for Goodrem, it was a pretty easy \u201cyes\u201d when the Eurovision universe\u00a0came\u00a0calling.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a measured person \u2013 I take everything in and allow it to simmer,\u201d she says. \u201cIn the past couple of years, Eurovision<\/a> has been more and more around me. I was always on a project or a tour or something but, last year, I was here doing shows when Eurovision was on, so I got to feel the energy in the air. It\u2019s early in the morning when it\u2019s on in Australia, so to be here experiencing it, I thought it was so incredible.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m always open-hearted and I know to do something when I\u2019m excited by it. This is a celebration. I\u2019m bringing Australia with me in my heart, and I love seeing everyone there excited to get even\u00a0more involved this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the fear of nul points? \u201cI can\u2019t control what happens. What I can control is my mindset and making sure that it\u2019s the best it can be. That\u2019s my job, and the rest of it\u2026 I feel grateful to be a\u00a0part of this Eurovision community so whatever is meant to be. But I will give it\u00a0everything I\u2019ve got.\u201d<\/p>\n

Should she pull it off and win, there would be the considerable logistical issue of what Australia hosting the show would look like. \u201cIt\u2019d be so fun.<\/a> I mean, I think we\u2019d be a great host, we\u2019d definitely want to look after everyone. Whether that\u2019s possible or not, I have no idea \u2013 but\u00a0imagine the pre-party barbecues.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TelevisionDelta as Nina on \u2018Neighbours\u2019 (Photo: FreMantle Media)<\/p>\n

Now 41, Goodrem has had a long and fruitful career, starting out as a child star at the age of 15 with a recording deal from Sony. At 16, she landed a part in Neighbours as aspiring singer Nina Tucker, a role that went nicely in tandem with her music career.<\/p>\n

She has since sold more than eight million albums globally, and one in four Australian homes has a Delta Goodrem album on its shelves. For eight years, she\u00a0was also a judge\/coach on The Voice Australia,<\/a> where she sat on a revolving chair next to artists including Good Charlotte\u2019s Joel Madden, Seal, Keith Urban and Ricky\u00a0Martin.<\/p>\n

She also formed a close friendship on the show with Boy George \u2013 who just happens to be her \u201chealthy competition\u201d on Eurovision this year. \u201cI was like, \u2018What do you mean George is going?\u2019 Oh, he just can\u2019t stay away!\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed, another fabulously random Eurovision moment this year comes from Boy George <\/a>accompanying the singer Senhit in representing San Marino, the tiny independent republic encased by Italy (which, unless we\u2019re very much mistaken, isn\u2019t where he was born and bred \u2013 but who cares, this is Eurovision after all).<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like it\u2019s extremely George. When you think about Eurovision, you think about individuality, creativity, joy, the theatrics, the trailblazers. It makes a lot of sense for George, who\u2019s a\u00a0trailblazer himself and has been a cultural phenomenon throughout his career,\u201d says Goodrem. \u201cI love that George and I are doing the same year. We\u2019ve always had a playful dynamic. We\u2019ve been really supportive of each other from day one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Goodrem has had a lot to be supported through in life, much of it health-related. At 18 and at the peak of her early fame in 2003, she was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma<\/a>, a cancer of the lymphatic system. At\u00a0the same time, her debut\u00a0album Innocent Eyes\u00a0was at number one in the charts in Australia, where it stayed for a record-breaking 29 weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe challenge of going through cancer at the same time as having a number-one album, the intensity and extreme nature of that was very unique and very\u00a0tough. But it did set me up so that, as a survivor, I\u2019m able to be a pillar of hope,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

She says she blocked out the trauma of\u00a0it all for a time. \u201cI still can\u2019t believe I\u00a0was that young. I think that everyone thought I was a lot older. I do think there was a chapter just after it when I\u00a0hit delete, I found it hard when I came out of it and the world felt so different,\u201d she says. \u201cBut I have memories of going through it all. I feel like I\u2019ve had to, so I\u00a0can speak to people still in the fight.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a young star, she dealt with intense public interest in her very private battle. \u201cPeople were trying to get into the hospital to take photos,\u201d she recalls.<\/p>\n

\"SYDNEY,Boy George and Delta Goodrem in 2018 (Photo: Don Arnold\/WireImage)<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I understood that. As an artist, if\u00a0your album is number one, you can feel\u00a0it in the air, and you can go out and enjoy it, and I did not experience that for a long time. I always try to think: \u2018What\u2019s the reason for this, and what perspective<\/a>\u00a0am I meant to find now?\u2019 It doesn\u2019t mean I don\u2019t go through a range of emotions, but I do try to move on from\u00a0things as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a further blow to her health, in 2018, a procedure to remove a salivary gland left Goodrem with paralysis to one\u00a0of the nerves in her tongue.<\/p>\n

Devastatingly, she had to learn to speak \u2013 and sing \u2013 again. \u201cThere was a lot of surrender because, if you can\u2019t talk, you can\u2019t express yourself. You have to just take the temperature down because the second you start panicking, it\u2019s so much worse. I had to just find my centre. I dove deep on writing my album, to keep\u00a0moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

It would be a dreadful experience for anyone, never mind a singer. Did she worry she would never get her voice back \u2013 and, if she did, it would be changed? And what if she never sang again?<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, yes, all of the above. But everything happens for a reason, and people go through a lot worse,\u201d she says. \u201cI couldn\u2019t have had that journey outside of my own house, that would have been too much. It was a private reset, a time to\u00a0strip it all back.\u201d<\/p>\n

She says it was six months before her voice returned and it took a year to get fully back to normal, with the help of her \u201cbeautiful\u201d speech therapist<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In a Hollywood ending, she finally got those powerhouse vocals back on point \u2013 though, in not-so-movie fashion, she didn\u2019t have a particularly emotional moment when she sang again for the first time. \u201cIt was such a gradual process, you know, sort of slowly getting\u00a0that\u00a0articulation.\u201d<\/p>\n

She tried to write so many songs about her experience, until eventually she came out with \u201cParalysed\u201d, her 2020 single which led her to open up about what she\u2019d been going through.<\/p>\n

\u201cI couldn\u2019t have predicted anything in my life. Life is full of surprises, but I\u00a0know that I\u2019ve got love and wonderful people and health and happiness. You\u2019ve gotta be grateful,\u201d she considers.
Last summer, Goodrem married Matthew Copley,<\/a> a guitarist who plays in her band and with whom she runs her independent record label, Atled<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s amazing, it\u2019s incredible. I love being married to my husband,\u201d she smiles. \u201cHe runs everything with me, we developed it all together.\u201d He has also been instrumental in realising the vision for Eurovision. \u201cWe\u2019ve been working hard bringing it to life because there\u2019s a lot of logistics, a lot of planning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Goodrem is approaching Eurovision much as a 100m sprinter might take on the Olympics. She adds: \u201cYou have to. You are the same as an athlete who is about to compete in a ski race\u00a0or\u00a0whatever.\u201d<\/p>\n

She is giving nothing away about her costume in Vienna<\/a>. \u201cWe had a lot of fittings and the problem with that is that I\u2019m over in Europe and the dress is in Australia, so I\u2019ve been getting videos. There\u2019s some big staging going on. You\u2019re going to be surprised,\u201d she smiles.<\/p>\n

Having been in the public eye for 25 years, she is used to being scrutinised. \u201cI appreciate having started young. For me, it was a positive thing. Fame was just a part of something I loved and I guess I\u2019ve become accustomed to the different phases of the media landscape, from when there was a lot more paparazzi to now with everybody\u2019s phones,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m at that point now where I\u2019m in my gym gear with no make-up and someone wants a photo and I\u2019ve surrendered to all that. Whereas 10 years ago, I might have been a bit more shy. You can\u2019t fight against a cultural shift. I accept that and think how wonderful that we can capture a moment together. When somebody comes up and starts a conversation or shares a story, when they walk away, I think \u2018I hope they knew how much that meant to me too\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Delta Goodrem\u2019s Eurovision single, \u2018Eclipse\u2019, is out now. She will be competing in the second semi-final of Eurovision<\/a> on 14 May, live on BBC One. The Eurovision Song Contest<\/a> final airs on BBC One on Saturday 16 May.<\/p>\n

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