Australia is holding its breath as Delta Goodrem edges closer to a historic Eurovision victory after delivering a jaw-dropping grand final performance in Vienna on Saturday night.
The Aussie superstar brought the arena to its feet with a dramatic rendition of her power ballad Eclipse, complete with blinding stage lights, swirling smoke and a full-force wind machine moment.
Goodrem is now sitting as the second favourite to win the 70th edition of the iconic song contest — and if she pulls it off, she will become the first Australian artist ever to claim the Eurovision crown.
The emotional performance capped off a remarkable week for the singer, whose semi-final appearance had already propelled her into uncharted territory for an Australian act in the competition.
Even Prime Minister Anthony Albanese threw his support behind the Innocent Eyes hitmaker ahead of the final. 'Good luck at the Eurovision Grand Final, Delta,' he posted on X. 'You've already made Australia proud. We'll all be cheering you on.'
Nail-Biting Finish Expected
Bookmakers are tipping a nail-biting finish between Australia and Finland, with Finnish duo Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkkonen currently leading betting markets with their entry Liekinheitin. But Australian fans are convinced Goodrem could pull off the impossible after her commanding performances throughout the competition.
Many Eurovision viewers have already declared Eclipse Australia's strongest entry since Dami Im stunned audiences with The Sound of Silence in 2016, ultimately finishing in second place.
Speaking before flying to Vienna for the competition, Goodrem said she had been overwhelmed by the support from fans back home. 'I love it, I love the passion, the positivity,' she told nine.com.au. 'I'm gonna take all this incredible good energy and vibes with me and fly over to Vienna with it all.'
Australia qualified for the grand final alongside countries including Malta, Denmark, Norway, Cyprus and Albania. Other nations competing in the blockbuster final include Ukraine, Bulgaria and Romania, while Eurovision's traditional 'Big Four' — France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom — automatically qualified for the grand final.
Despite Australia being one of the favourites, Eurovision organisers have previously confirmed that the contest would not be hosted Down Under if Australia wins, with another European nation expected to step in as host instead.
Delta's Health Battles
Former Australian Idol judge Mark Holden, credited with helping to launch Delta's career, told the Daily Mail he believed she has what it takes to bring Australia glory. 'Delta works at her career every single day,' he said. 'She has created a live gig universe for herself in Europe and I have so much respect for her work ethic and her ability to commit to it every day. That's what it takes.'
Despite her dazzling career, Delta has been beset with health battles, including her Hodgkin lymphoma diagnosis in 2003 aged just 18, from which she recovered before having to re-learn how to speak after having her salivary gland removed.
Her rise to Eurovision success is monumental for the star after the 2018 salivary gland removal caused a paralysed nerve in her tongue, after which she was at risk of never speaking or singing again — before she battled to regain her talent.
Speaking of the battle, she previously said: 'That damage meant that I had to then learn how to speak again and how to be able to pronunciate. It was a complete paralysis, and it was a lot of hard work, a lot of determination.'
Her resurgence comes off the back of her incredible survivor story, with her first battle being aged just 18, when in July 2003 she was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma, an uncommon cancer that develops in the lymphatic system.
On discovering the cancer, she said: 'I was doing sit-ups when I felt something pop in my neck. I reached down and I felt a small lump at the base of my throat. It wasn't sore, it wasn't visible, but I could feel it.'
She underwent radiation therapy and chemotherapy, which led to her losing her hair, which she confessed was the 'hardest part' due to the fact she was still a teen. Speaking about her treatment, Delta said: 'The treatment was tough. I remember one day staring out of the window, longing to be able to just go for a walk and get a coffee. I looked in the mirror. My face had a green tinge... My hair was falling out. I had lost so much weight and I thought, I don't recognise this person. You know rationally you're the same person, but you look and feel so different.'
After overcoming her cancer, in 2018 a routine operation went wrong and led to Delta losing the ability to speak and having to completely re-learn speech. Delta did not go public with the details until 2020, when she revealed the battle which she said she had 'taken on a private path' but was then ready to share.
Alongside a six minute long video called 'Paralyzed', she said: 'I've lived my life in the public eye my entire life since I was a teenager... It was a really private path, but I'm thankful that when I released that video, the amount of people that came forward and shared with me… I just had this beautiful connection to people.'
On the surgery and aftermath, she said: 'That damage meant that I had to then learn how to speak again and how to be able to pronunciate. It was a complete paralysis, and it was a lot of hard work, a lot of determination... I went to rehab with my speech therapy — every single day learning how to speak. It was obviously, as a singer, deeply troubling at the time... I understood this was such a fight that I had to go through. I spent all the time trying to speak and learning and had a wonderful speech therapist, wonderful doctors, so I could be able to make the new record again.'
Delta later said: 'When I woke up I realised there was nerve damage. I actually had a flight booked for the UK – this was 2018 – but I ended up having to go to ground and go to speech therapy. I didn't have any idea when it was going to get back to normal. It could be three months or three years.' In another interview, she said: 'I understand that everybody has their challenges and that just happened to have been one of mine. But yes, it was definitely a challenging time.'
