Born in Sydney in 1984, Delta Goodrem is a musician, actor and TV personality. She signed her first record deal at 15, and joined the cast of Neighbours, as Nina Tucker, a year later. Her 2003 album, Innocent Eyes, became one of the biggest-selling debuts in Australian history, spending 29 weeks at No 1, and she has gone on to sell 9m records globally. Alongside her music career, Goodrem was a coach on The Voice Australia for eight years, and also starred as Olivia Newton-John in the star’s biopic. Goodrem’s new single, Back to Your Heart, is out now.
This photo of me surrounded by colourful balloons was taken at my dad’s 40th birthday. It’s not a huge smile on my face, but I would have been very happy as I most definitely would have picked up a mic and sung Hopelessly Devoted to You or Twist and Shout at some point during the night. My mum put me in that beautiful princess dress for the party – it’s not what I would have chosen, but she loved it, and even back then I was drawn to a sense of fantasy and play. Most of all, the image represents a moment before my career began, and a sense of celebration and coming together, which is so important to me.
I had a wonderful childhood, one that was pretty standard for an Australian kid. I did a lot of sport and was very outdoorsy, and when it came to socialising I always treated age as if it was irrelevant: if I was sitting with the adults in my family, I’d be chatting away, and if I was sitting with the kids I’d be just as pleased to be having a conversation. I was comfortable with all types of people and spaces.
My family are not creative at all – my brother is a professional Australian-rules football player and captain – an incredible leader. Mum and Dad worked really hard so we could make our dreams achievable. But when it came to their record collection, it was strictly limited to albums by Joe Cocker, John Farnham and Jive Bunny, so my listening taste was something I discovered on my own. It started with Céline Dion, then came Tori Amos and Fleetwood Mac. Music quickly became part of my heart and soul, and I saw each artist’s song as a story.
The frequency of music was so moving to me, and from the start I recognised how incredible it was to transform a room with melody. But rather than having posters of pop stars on my wall, I had the Australian music chart. I’d cross out whatever was No 1 with a pen and write my name instead.
I was 15 when I first got signed to Sony, but I had been writing songs on the piano since I was seven. In that same year, I had also started acting on primetime TV [on shows such as Hey Dad … !, A Country Practice and Police Rescue]. The arts came into my life at a pretty young age, but in spite of the momentum, the pressure didn’t get to me. While I know it can be hard to sustain your own sense of self-belief, I always felt as if I was in my own race to be better than I was yesterday, rather than looking for external validation. My drive was never about money or fame. It was always about the intention of love and connecting.
I’ve had a lot of stops and starts since then – whether it’s having to constantly fight for my space in a busy, ever-changing industry, which is why I’ve taken my career into my own hands and set up my own label, or my health. The same week as my debut album was released, I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
I was 18, and it was an extreme time. There was this strange period where I was heading over to the UK for Top of the Pops and flying back to Australia to do Neighbours, but then suddenly having to hold back and spend a lot of time with oncologists and haematologists, doing chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
While I was resting and rehabilitating at home, Innocent Eyes took on a life of its own. It was a destabilising period, but one that gave me perspective. It taught me that while life can be messy, it’s just part of your trajectory. Heading back on tour, making music again – that was my drive to get better.
In 2018, I faced a different challenge altogether. I had my salivary gland removed, and when I woke from surgery my speech was altered as a nerve in my tongue had been paralysed. I couldn’t speak a word, let alone sing, and I had to learn how to talk from scratch. It definitely wasn’t a walk in the park, but the amazing nurses helped me find my feet again.
Being back in front of an audience after that period of reset was one of the most incredible experiences, and it’s helped me as a musician. I define what I do as a “life writer” – someone who combines the grounding lessons I’ve learned with the fantasy of music. Now every huge hurdle shapes me as an artist.
Despite the pauses in my career, I am so amazed that I’m still connected to my audience, and can still look at the world with curiosity and believe that no dreams have expiry dates. It’s no surprise that my algorithms on social media are all geared towards inspirational quotes and affirmations. That level of optimism is something I am so grateful for. Even when I couldn’t speak, I still didn’t think it would be the end of my career. Maybe that’s the sunny Australian in me!
I also owe a lot of my positivity to the brilliant mentors who’ve helped along the way. Gary Barlow from Take That has been a wonderful kindred spirit throughout my journey, and Olivia Newton-John was a guiding light for me. Not to mention my friends and my partner [musician Matthew Copley], who is amazing.
For now, I am hoping for a smooth few years. This next chapter is all about good music and good people. I’ve just had one of the best years of my life – I shot a movie with Netflix, I did an arena tour in Australia, then I went on the road with Backstreet Boys for four months. Being on the bus every day with those guys, performing on stage to 20,000 people and getting to hear their amazing songs every night was the best. Howie Dorough even wore one of my merch T-shirts on stage.
Despite the fact I was signed as a child, I haven’t had a bad experience like so many pop stars did in the 90s and 00s. Because I started so young, this career is all I’ve known. In many ways it’s preserved me in time: when I joined The Voice with Seal and Keith Urban, I realised I was the baby of the group and could bring a sense of playfulness to the show. It was an interesting merging of adult and child worlds, and a dynamic I still like to hold on to.
Due to the physical nature of my job, I am in athlete mode a lot; I have to be disciplined with my voice and take my health seriously. But I’m still striking a balance between making sure I’m a present friend and partner, and an artist evolving and moving forward. For ever a student. For ever happy on a stage, holding a balloon.
