Australian sensation Delta Goodrem, at just 23, is already one of Australia’s most successful and highest-selling female artists. Now, Australia’s best kept secret is poised for a major U.S. debut CD release with Delta, set for release on June 10th from Mercury/Decca.
In an era of pre-fabricated as-seen-on-TV popstars, Delta Goodrem is the real thing. A pianist since the age of seven, Goodrem harks back to a bygone era where pop stars wrote their own songs and sang them live – as simple as that. Her debut album in the U.S. serves as a welcome antidote to the rushed world of generic pop, with timeless, global tunes injected with power, passion and personality.
First single, “In This Life,” also happens to be Delta’s eighth #1 hit in Australia (out of an impressive 13 singles released to date), effortlessly seducing radio with its life-affirming chorus and wall-to-wall melodic rush. “The sentiment in songs is so important to me. It’s got the melody that rings in your ear, but I can also belt it out. It’s got all the elements I could hope to be introduced with.” “Possessionless” may be the album’s most personal track. Goodrem wrote the song shortly after winning her battle with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a cancer that derailed Delta at the height of her Australian and UK success in 2003.
“Hard times are universal. Good times are universal. I’ve learned how powerful music can be to people, how you just want to get lost in music. That’s a really special connection with people that isn’t disposable. I like the idea of starting in America with a clean slate. I’m looking forward to singing my heart out.”
In 2003, Delta took Australia by storm, breaking chart records and becoming one of only a handful of albums to sell over a million copies in Australia. Her first CD, Innocent Eyes, released overseas in 2003, has now reached over 4 million sales worldwide and earned the singer the Highest Selling Album award at the Australian equivalent of the Grammys two years running. She spent a record-breaking 29 weeks at No.1 in Australia and reached No.2 in the UK. Each of the album’s five singles made No.1 in Australia – breaking a record held by Kylie Minogue and the Beatles.
Delta is a songwriting force to be reckoned with. In 2006, Goodrem performed a self-penned song, “Together We Are One,” at the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in front of a worldwide audience of 1.5 billion. The inspirational song surfaced on last year’s American Idol. Another song penned by Goodrem, “Days Go By,” was a No.1 hit this year by Norwegian Idol Glenn Lyse, while she also just collaborated on a song with hero Olivia Newton-John for her new cancer charity. “Olivia’s been a shining light for me,” Delta says. Another one of Goodrem’s songs, “Eyes on Me,” was selected by Celine Dion for her latest album Taking Chances. “To hear ‘Eyes on Me’ sung by a woman I’ve looked up to all my life – that’s an amazing feeling,’’ Goodrem says.
After an accelerated life – and career – of dizzying highs and crushing lows, the Delta album sees Goodrem coming out of the dark with songs that embrace the positivity and healing power of pop music.
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