Pop singer Delta Goodrem is hoping to bring Eurovision glory to Australia for the first time as she competes in Vienna with her song “Eclipse”. After Australia failed to secure a win last year, Goodrem enters this year’s final as one of the favourites, having received one of the biggest cheers in Thursday’s semi-final.
Goodrem, 41, is a household name in Australia and known worldwide for her role in the soap opera Neighbours, as well as her debut album Innocent Eyes. Released in 2003 when she was 18, the album remains one of Australia’s highest-selling records and spawned hits including “Born to Try” and “Lost Without You”. It also charted at number two in the UK.
Her career was temporarily derailed when she was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma, a rare cancer, less than four months after the album’s release. “It changed the trajectory of my life completely,” she recalled. Undergoing radiotherapy and chemotherapy, she spoke of the emotional toll: “When you lose your hair, including your eyebrows and lashes, your skin is pale and you have braces – you want to feel pretty and you start to get creative.”
Goodrem made a full recovery and has since released six further albums, including five number ones in Australia. Her latest, Bridge Over Troubled Dreams, topped the charts in 2021. That album followed another health battle: in 2018, she suffered paralysis of a nerve in her tongue after salivary gland surgery, requiring extensive rehabilitation to relearn speech and singing.
Describing her Eurovision journey, Goodrem said: “It’s truly an honour. Eurovision is one of the most iconic global music stages, and to represent Australia is something I feel incredibly proud of.” Her song “Eclipse” is about “those rare, powerful moments in life where everything aligns – where love, timing, and connection feel almost cosmic.” She added that winning would be “a moment shared with everyone who has supported me.”
