How Delta Goodrem became Australia’s most wanted Eurovision act
- Kyriakos Tsinivits
- 2 minutes ago
- 4 min read
How did Delta Goodrem became Australia’s most wanted Eurovision act?
When Australia debuted at the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with Guy Sebastian and secured a Top 5 result, excitement immediately turned to one question: who would represent Australia next?
After receiving an invitation to return to the competition, speculation was rife. Could a major Australian star have been lined up for 2016?
Was Delta going to do Eurovision 2016?
Back in 2024, Aussievision hosted a podcast series for SBS titled Why is Australia in Eurovision?
During one episode, Dale and Mike spoke with Dami Im, who represented Australia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2016.
Dami revealed that she had heard another artist had already been chosen.
“At one point I had heard that an artist had been chosen and it was a really big name,” Dami said.
However, in early 2016, SBS ultimately called Dami to inform her she would be heading to Stockholm.
That revelation has long sparked curiosity. Could the “big name” initially in talks to follow in Guy Sebastian’s footsteps have been Delta Goodrem?
A huge year for Delta
2015 was a monumental year for Delta.
She returned as a coach on The Voice Australia and reprised her iconic role as Nina Tucker on Neighbours for the show’s 30th anniversary.
Musically, she collaborated with DNA Songs (Anthony Egizii and David Musumeci), who would go on to write Dami’s Eurovision entry Sound of Silence.
Together, they co-wrote Delta’s single Wings, which reached No. 1 on the ARIA Singles Chart.
With such a successful year behind her, representing Australia in Stockholm would have been the perfect cherry on top.
Unsurprisingly, fans were eager to see Delta take on the Eurovision stage.
The rumour mill was in overdrive, and it wasn't just fans being hopeful.
Top outlets, including The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Delta was a name being touted as the 2016 representative.
However, Delta ultimately ruled herself out. Responding to a BuzzFeed tweet at the time, she wrote:
“Not me lovelies! I got a world of music going on but I’m sure whoever is doing it will be awesome and we will all get behind xx.”
Delta's involvement with Junior Eurovision
Following Guy Sebastian’s breakthrough appearance at Eurovision 2015, SBS expanded its commitment to the franchise by entering the Junior Eurovision Song Contest for the first time, internally selecting fourteen-year-old Bella Paige to represent Australia at the 2015 contest in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Bella’s entry, My Girls, carried a notable connection to Delta Goodrem, who co-wrote the song.
The pair had previously met during Bella’s time on The Voice Kids Australia in 2014, where Bella finished as a joint runner-up.
The song delivered an empowering message to young girls — encouraging them to stay strong, support one another, believe in themselves and dream big — themes closely aligned with Delta's own songwriting style and public persona.
In Sofia, Australia ultimately placed 8th with 64 points, marking a solid debut for Australia.
The following year, Australia’s Junior Eurovision journey once again intersected with Delta.
In 2016, Alexa Curtis — winner of The Voice Kids Australia and a member of Team Delta — was selected to represent the country with We Are.
Her entry went on to finish in 5th place at Junior Eurovision 2016.
Together, these early contributions positioned Delta as a key creative figure in Australia’s early years at Junior Eurovision.
Appetite grows for Delta
Since 2022, as part of our annual Eurovision Fan Survey, we have asked fans which artist they would most like to see represent Australia.
Delta Goodrem ranked at no. 5 in our poll in 2022 as the preferred artist fans would love to see represent Australia.
Round out the top 5 were three Australia Decides artists, Electric Fields (no. 1), Voyager (no. 2) and Jaguar Jonze (no. 3), and the iconic duo, The Veronicas (no. 4).
Voyager would go on to represent Australia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 after winning the televote at the final Australia Decides on the Gold Coast.
In 2023, Delta rose to third place in our survey, behind Electric Fields and Jaguar Jonze. Electric Fields were later internally selected to represent Australia in Basel.
Over the following two years, Delta climbed to No. 1 in our fan poll — the artist fans most wanted to see at Eurovision.
This year, that wish became reality.
"Planets are aligning..."
In a recent interview with us, Delta revealed that conversations about Eurovision had been circling for years — but this time, it felt different.
“This particular year… there were a lot of moments where people reached out to me about it. Throughout the years, [Eurovision] circled me,” she said.
She described the pivotal moment that turned speculation into something more tangible:
“When I was in London doing the Hackney shows, Eurovision was on at the time. Jack in the UK had done this article saying ‘Delta to go to Eurovision’ — he just asked me backstage. And I was like, I love it, I love watching it, that’s so awesome. And from that it snowballed into people kind of calling me saying, ‘Hey, would you do Eurovision?’ And I heard the signs. It’s the same with your fan polls… It just felt like this was the right timing this year.”
As she sings in her Eurovision entry Eclipse, “Planets are aligning.”
And for Delta Goodrem and Eurovision, it seems they finally have.
Check out our interview with Delta Goodrem here:
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