Delta Goodrem

Neighbours actress and singer/songwriter Delta Goodrem was picked up by Sony after they heard a demo of her singing at the grand old age of 12. Delta, now 18 joined popular Australian soap neighbours in 2001, when urged to by her agent, to play a typical teenage schoolgirl who can sing. Storylines for her character Nina Tucker, have involved her winning a singing contest and working in a bar as a singer. She sings only songs off her album in Neighbours which is why it was seen as a good launching pad for the artist. Other Neighbours stars that have found singing fame include Jason Donovan, Holly Valance, Natalie Imbruglia and of course Kylie Minogue, to name a few.

When 'contest winning song' Born to try was released in her native Australia, it gave Delta her debut No.1 hit as it flew straight to the top of the charts on its week of release. Other Australian No.1's followed, with three No.1 singles and a No.1 album already under her Australian belt.

Delta, like many others saw that the next launching ground for her musical career should be the UK. From the power of Neighbours, with little promotion or airplay, Delta's debut solo single whisked its way into the top 3 on its week of release as it debuted at No.3, beating other singles out that week, such as 50 Cent's In da club, which debuted at No.4. This success wasn't short as Born to try hung around the UK top 40 for 3 months, including 4 weeks inside the top 10, after a rare return, when it had dropped to No.11 for a week. Follow up single Lost without you, proved that she was no one hit wonder as she returned to the top 5. The song peaked at No.4 where it spent another three months in the top 40 for Delta.

The power of these two singles took her album Innocent eyes, to its debut and peak position of No.2, only to be beaten by Beyoncé's huge album Dangerously in love. On the back of third and fourth hits Innocent eyes, a powerful upbeat song, and another ballad Not me, Not I, Delta spent a month in the top 3 from debut and her first two months were all inside the top 10. This success gave her a platinum album, in two countries already but tragically she announced that she had cancer. A throat cancer Hodgkin's disease which could be treated. The brave girl announced that she would have to cut off her long blonde hair and shy away from promotion for a few months, but reassured her fans that she would be OK and would return as soon as the treatment was finished.

Delta, who underwent chemotherapy, can at least rest assured that her huge album is appreciated by many fans, and that she is the biggest and most talented Neighbours export since Kylie. With an album behind her which boasts 14 classic tracks, some co-written by Gary Barlow, it is clear that she will be around for years to come.

Innocent eyes provided the songstress with her third consecutive top 10 hit as it went straight in at UK No.9. Meanwhile Not me, Not I provided Delta with her fourth consecutive No.1 in Australia, making her the first ever artist to have their first four singles to reach No.1.

However, this was not the end. After much hype about what was to be Delta's final album single, she released Predictable in Australia which reached No.1 beating her own record. Meanwhile in the UK Not me, Not I gave Delta another top 20 hit, before much fuss over whether or not Throw it away would be released turned out negative for fans as Sony UK decided not to put it out as a fifth single, because of promotional issues.

Delta came back to the music scene in late 2004 with her second album Mistaken Identity. A more personal and darker album, it raised issues such as her year battling cancer, and tells of how she has grown up since her last album, particularly on the track Mistaken Identity. The album shot straight to No.1 in Australia going 5xplatinum and made the top 30 in the UK selling over 100,000 copies in its first month!!!. It was preceded by Delta's sixth single and sixth consecutive Australian No.1; Out Of The Blue. The song also went straight into the top 10 in the UK.

The album also featured a duet Almost Here, with former Westlife member and boyfriend Brian McFadden which became a huge top 3 hit for the duo in the UK selling over 25,000 copies in its first week of release and staying inside the top 10 for 3 weeks!!!. At the same time, the singer release dramatic masterpiece Mistaken Identity which gave Delta a 7th consecutive top 10 hit in Australia, debuting at No.7 in its first week following six No.1's!!! The follow up Almost Here returned the star to the top in Australia, when she and Brian made their debut on the ARIA chart at No.1!!!

Be Strong topped the Australian download chart for the singer in 2005, and she had further success with Together We Are One, a song released for the Commonwealth Games due to fan demand after she had performed the track at the opening ceremony. The single reached No.2 in Australia.

Delta had an eventful 2006 and 2007. In 2006 she launched in Japan with the album Innocent Eyes, a collaboration of her first two studio albums plus two new tracks, Never Fades Away and Flawed. In 2007 she returned with her third studio album and the first single was the infectious uplifting pop song In This Life, a return to her roots some have said.

All information and resources written by Richard Stuart-Turner