There’s something almost too perfect about how Delta Goodrem’s Eurovision story ended.
The Australian singer finished fourth at this year’s contest – and that number means a little more than it might initially seem.
A RESULT WRITTEN IN THE STARS
Delta Goodrem’s fourth-place finish is no small feat. It’s Australia’s best Eurovision result since Dami Im came agonisingly close to winning in 2016 with Sound of Silence, finishing runner-up. But what makes Delta’s placement feel so significant is who finished fourth before her.
In 1974, a young Olivia Newton-John stepped onto the Eurovision stage representing the United Kingdom with Long Live Love. She also came in fourth place.
Half a century later, her close friend and greatest musical admirer did exactly the same.
“I WAS LOOKING FOR HER ALWAYS”
Delta, 41, has never been shy about what Olivia Newton-John meant to her. The bond between the two women stretches back to when Delta was just seven years old and spotted her idol walking into a New York restaurant after a showing of Phantom of the Opera.
“Sandy from Grease walks in the door and I said to Mum, ‘Sandy is there, Mum. It’s Sandy,'” Delta previously recalled. Olivia, catching the Australian accent, walked over and introduced herself. The next day, Delta wandered the streets of New York hoping to find her again. “Little did I know we [wouldn’t] find each other… I was looking for her always.”
She found her eventually – and they stayed close for the rest of Olivia’s life.
NORTH STARS
Before heading to Vienna for the contest, Delta spoke about the two women who shaped her most in music.
“Olivia Newton-John has been on the Eurovision stage,” she told Woman’s Day. “And we’ve had Celine Dion. Those two women are the biggest influences for me in music since I started. I think that’s pretty amazing to know that the two people who I love so dearly have both been a part of the Eurovision family.”
MORE THAN A MUSICAL CONNECTION
The relationship between Delta and Olivia ran deeper than music. Delta wrote songs for her, duetted with her on stage, and in 2018, she portrayed Olivia in the miniseries Olivia Newton-John: Hopelessly Devoted to You.
And when Delta was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma at just 18, it was Olivia – who had faced her own breast cancer diagnosis in 1992 – who reached out.
“[She wrote] a long letter talking about a [cancer] journey and how it’s a gift to give back to people,” Delta has said. “And we bonded instantly.”
After Olivia’s passing in 2022, Delta says she has been more intentional about the projects she takes on – and Eurovision felt like a meaningful one.
FEELING HER ON STAGE
The night before the Eurovision grand final, Delta’s primary school shared a video of her at six years old singing Hopelessly Devoted to You. She posted it to her own Instagram with a simple note: “Feeling Olivia on stage with me.”
Whether you call it coincidence or something more, Delta and Olivia’s matching fourth place finishes are a detail that’s hard to ignore.
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