I wish I could lie and say that I started listening to Delta Goodrem’s music on my own. Unfortunately,  as my brain typically seems to work, I go through phases. (Does anyone else do this?) “Oh, I’m really into Westlife right now…” *runs to YouTube*… “What did Brian McFadden do once he left the group?”….”Almost Here…” *click*. And voila, suddenly I’m googling Delta Goodrem, because she’s… for lack of a better word…. awesome.

For those not in the know (and this writer is a recent convert herself), Delta Goodrem is a pop singer/songwriter working out of Australia. She started young (some sources say as young as 15). Her first album release came quickly after with 2003’s Innocent Eyes, which purportedly toped the Australian album charts, and came this close (holds up two fingers… really close together) to topping the UK charts. The album is an incredibly strong debut album, and stands out against the overly poppy, overly auto-tuned ventures by other “pop princess” contemporaries. The record features a number of strong singles. The title song Innocent Eyes, and Lost Without You stand out as two of the particularly strong ventures in the incredibly well done album.

She kept working throughout the decade, only briefly derailed by a cancer diagnosis around the age of 18. She not only managed to beat the disease, but bounced back stronger than ever from it. Since then, she has often been an advocate of a healthy, natural lifestyle.

As with any artist, she’s underwent tremendous evolution and growth in her almost 15 year music career. She’s recently released her fifth album (correct me if I’m wrong, Australian readers). On July 11, 2016 Billboard announced that Wings of Wild had dropped in at number 1 in the Australian charts, her first chart toper since 2007.

Coming at this article having been reared on American tabloids, much of the meatier, gossipy stuff has been harder for me to come by, with the exception of the occasional picture of her superficially cute (but apparently difficult and dramatic relationship) with former Westlife singer Brian McFadden. While, I’m quite a sucker for the two of them singing “Almost Here” if the reports I’ve read are true that their relationship started while they were recording the break-up song, that’s a psychological ramble waiting to happen.

Coming at this write-up from a musical perspective, Goodrem’s music is not overly poppy, instead choosing a more subdued sound. In her concert specials (thank you, YouTube!) she’s often behind a piano for long stretches of time. And as I’ve said before, I respect the hell out of song-writers  For readers in the United States, most of Goodrem’s albums are available through iTunes, and are a very good place to start.