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This 18 year old singer/songwriter from Australia has worked to make it big since she was young. Now even as she enjoys the rewards of her hard work, a diagnosis of cancer this year turns the success bittersweet. The Record profiles this brave young musician.
THE EARLY YEARS
Delta Goodrem is no overnight success. She started in the entertainment business at the age of seven, acting in TV commercials and Australian television shows. But music was always her passion so Delta saved her acting money to make a demo CD.
At the age of 12, with five songs she'd written, Delta recorded her demo CD in which she included her version of the Australian national anthem because she dreamed of one day singing at a game for her football team - the Sydney Swans. In her words, "Anyone's allowed to dream". Delta sent the CD to the Swans who forwarded it to one of the club's biggest supporters - the legendary Australian manager Glenn Wheatley, the man who guided the Little River Band and John Farnham to mega success. He listened to her music, liked what he heard and over the next two years, Glenn helped Delta develop her career, before Sony signed her at the age of 15.
THE MUSIC
This was, as Delta likes to say, “only the beginning”. While her talent was obvious, it didn’t make the start of her career in music any easier. Inspired by everything from Silverchair to Incubus to Jeff Buckley and "the Diva Girls" - Mariah and Celine; at first, Delta struggled to find her own direction. Then she discovered her mantra: Just have fun and sing from the heart. The result was her now smash-hit album ‘Innocent Eyes’ where Delta wrote or co-wrote all the songs. Much of ‘Innocent Eyes’ sounds like pages ripped from her diary. The album's opening line "Doing everything that I believe in". The title-track of Delta's debut album is her story. "I really wanted a song with a bit of a classical feel because I've been doing classical piano for 10 years," she explains. "This song is about looking at the world with innocent eyes, that enthusiasm, which I never want to lose."
INNOCENT EYES – THE ALBUM
Delta's worked with a stellar cast, including the True North production and songwriting team (Gary Barlow and Eliot Kennedy), Ric Wake (the producer who has worked with Celine Dion, Jennifer Lopez and Mariah Carey), Matthew Gerrard (Mandy Moore, BB Mak), Vince Pizzinga (Midnight Oil, Danielle Spencer), David Nicholas (INXS, Elton John, George), The Rembrandts and Mark Holden.
'Born To Try’, the first single from Delta's debut album, took the Australian charts by storm, going to number one just after Delta's 18th birthday. It stayed in the Top 5 for more than three months, going triple platinum for sales of more than 210,000 copies. "I love how 'Born To Try'connected with people," Delta says. "I've had all sorts of people come up to me, from all age groups who tell me, 'I play this at home all the time.'" "Every song holds a significant memory" Delta explains. "I wanted to make an album that reflected these times in my life".
You can read the rest of our feature on Delta Goodrem in the January 2004 issue of The Record Music Magazine available at your local newsagent.
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