With a great voice and lyricism beyond her years, it was no surprise when Delta Goodrem became a household name at the age of 17.
After appearing in Neighbours as shy schoolgirl Nina Tucker and releasing her hit debut album Innocent Eyes, it was clear Delta had a promising future.
Although she was living her dreams, a devastating diagnosis of Hodgkin’s lymphoma put the young Delta’s life on hold.
Thankfully, she beat the cancer, going on to release more music, perform around the world, become a judge on The Voice and launch her own charity.
Most recently, Delta has had to face another battle. After having surgery on her throat, a nerve in her tongue became paralysed, forcing her to learn how to speak and sing again.
“Everybody responds differently to a challenge like that,” Delta, 36, tells TV WEEK.
“Having nerve damage – and experiencing it in the area that’s my heart and soul, my job and my life – it was a challenge to surrender to the situation and try not to control it, because you can’t.”
Delta kept her battle hidden at first.
(Instagram)With doctors unsure whether the nerve would ever heal, Delta had to yet again draw on an inner strength.
“I’m grateful that I believed that in time it would come back,” she explains.
With daily speech therapy as the nerve slowly healed, Delta managed to reclaim her voice, documenting her difficult journey in a candid video she released online after her recovery.
“I wasn’t sure I’d share it,” Delta admits. “There was so much uncertainty when I shared that video, but it was also a reminder of strength. You can get through it, but you have to work really hard.”
By bravely sharing her journey, which inspired her single Paralyzed, the singer knew it was her way of communicating where her new work was coming from.
“I’m very grateful to have worked really hard to have my voice and be in full flight again,” she says.
Moving beyond recovery, Delta is using her voice to raise spirits this Christmas by hosting Christmas With Delta, a TV special dedicated to celebrating true-blue Aussie spirit.
“We’ve got beautiful stories of inspiring Australians, a heap of music and some special guests I’m very excited to have join me,” Delta teases, remaining tight-lipped about her guests’ identities.
Ultimately, Delta says this special is about spreading love and happiness.
“Christmas is a really important time, but sometimes it’s not the easiest for people, especially if they’ve been going through a bad year,” she says. “It’s like it heightens all the emotions.”
Stuck in lockdown and missing her family during the pandemic, Delta began working on a spontaneous Christmas-themed original song with her partner, musician Matthew Copley, called “Only Santa Knows”. It turned into a whole album filled with festive classics.
A 2021 return to The Voice? Sadly not.
(Instagram)Although she didn’t plan on making a Christmas album this year, Delta lets her instincts guide her career.
It’s opened doors to personal growth.
“The Voice has been a big chapter,” she says, after nine years as a mentor and judge on the hit reality show.
“I’ve loved the show from day one,” Delta enthuses. “I’ve loved mentoring – and the coaches, who have brought so much wisdom. We have a lot of fun surrounded by music.”
But sadly, the coach has now confirmed her The Voice journey is over.
Taking to Instagram, Delta revealed she wouldn’t be returning in 2021, instead announcing an exciting new venture starting her own production company, Atled Productions (presumably named as such because it is Delta spelt backwards) and will continue to work with Channel Nine.
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