Can Delta Goodrem eclipse the competition at Eurovision?

There are just 20 sleeps or so until Eurovision, but for Australia’s entrant – pop star Delta Goodrem – the toughest part of the journey may be behind her. The 41-year-old Sydney-born singer-songwriter has returned from a gruelling month on the European promotional trail.

Not to undersell the challenge of facing off against 34 other countries in the world’s toughest music competition next month, the “pre-competition” for Eurovision sends its most enthusiastic competitors on a whistle-stop tour aimed at drumming up fan support ahead of the main show.

“It was really incredible, getting to sort of get a sense of just how much is going on,” Goodrem said. “There’s so many people, there are so many different styles of music, so many different styles of approach in the pre-party.”

For Australia – a country without a political voting bloc in the competition – that pre-tour is as important as the semi-final and final performances. With enthusiastic fan support, Goodrem seems to have firmed as a top-five or even top-three contender this year. Without it, a winning Eurovision result is impossible.

The three key stops for Goodrem were the Nordic Eurovision Party in Oslo, Eurovision in Concert in Amsterdam, and the London Eurovision Party. “At the first, Oslo, everybody is just stepping into it. And then in Amsterdam, everybody is getting to give each other a hug and say hi,” Goodrem said. “It was really nice.”

The 12-time ARIA Award-winning singer was announced last month as Australia’s entrant in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. The song she will perform, a pop anthem titled Eclipse, was co-written by Goodrem, Ferras Alqaisi, Jonas Myrin and Michael Fatkin. This year’s Eurovision is of particular significance; it is the 70th annual competition. It is also being held in Vienna, the city where Australia made its debut in the competition 11 years ago.

Fan polling varies from website to website. But broadly speaking, Eclipse is generating enormous buzz. Fans are tipping it as a top-five or top-three song, and that is without having yet seen the planned staging for the Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna. The production design of Goodrem’s performance will not be revealed publicly until the first rehearsals early next month.

Just how much fan buzz translates to a performance that can simultaneously win over the “tele-voting” TV audience and the professional juries remains to be seen. For her part, Goodrem is upbeat. “I didn’t know about pre-parties or pre-polls,” she said. “I’m still learning what that data even means. But I’m good with where we are right now, and I’m ready to hit with punch. I’ve still got a lot in the tank to go.”

This year’s Eurovision also pits Goodrem against Boy George, her former co-judge on The Voice Australia. The 64-year-old British musician is a co-writer on the song Superstar, which Italian singer Senhit is singing for San Marino. “I texted with him and he will bring the banter. He will bring it. He’s definitely just coming in,” Goodrem said. “I saw him do the London pre-party. We’re very playful, and it’s super iconic that he’s doing it as well.”

Goodrem is currently in Fiji with her family, on a brief rest stop before flying to Vienna for rehearsals and the semi-final heats early next month. The remaining X-factor in her strategy is the production design and stage choreography of her performance.

Because Goodrem is an accomplished pianist – a detail persistently referenced in much of the European media coverage – there is an expectation that the staging for Eclipse may be minimalist. Australia’s best performer at Eurovision ever – Dami Im, who came second in 2016 – performed Sound of Silence in the same manner: minimal staging and no choreography.

Goodrem is giving nothing away. “I’ve always loved to make something out of something. And as a pianist, the instrumental side of me is incredibly important. It is the orchestra, and it is the arc of a story,” she says. “That classical side of me will definitely be present [in Vienna].”

For now, the next step is Vienna itself. “To me, it’s like being an athlete,” Goodrem says. “You have to be strong, be prepared and also … I’ve got to just protect and look after myself and go over there fit and healthy and enjoy it. I’m in a world of passion for the theatrics of telling a story and song and it meaning something. I’m here for it. [Now] I’ve got to fly over and just enjoy this.”

The Eurovision Song Contest will be televised live and in prime time from May 13-17 on SBS and SBS On Demand.

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