Despite a career already full of successes, Delta Goodrem is now back with a new perspective on her own career. Following her two massively successful albums – ‘Innocent Eyes’ (2003) and ‘Mistaken Identity’ (2004), which spawned a quick succession of hit singles on the Australian and international charts (most notably topping the charts in the UK and Japan) – Delta took a break from the intense media scrutiny to find time to breathe again and discover a new way forward. “There were a lot of things going on in my life, and I felt a lot of pressure of as a result of the attention I was receiving. Whilst I was grateful for all the support I received, it was a very strange experience for me to live out a lot of personal issues that I faced. I felt it was really important to shed a lot of that baggage and embrace the future. I needed to make some changes and bring the focus of attention back to my music,” she says earnestly.
Moving away from Australia to the UK, Delta began to shed some of the layers that she had built up over the years under the spotlight of public attention, and in doing so began a transition from her slightly sheltered existence into that of a woman with a career, a relationship, and her own identity. This growth and new beginning is reflected in her new album, simply titled ‘Delta’. The album is a collection of twelve ‘songs’ – in the truest sense of the word – dealing with life, love, and relationships, reflecting both her own life and those of the people around her. “A lot of the words from the songs can be quite deep, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they are always about my life. There are songs on this album which have nothing to do with my own personal experience of events, but which are still honest and emotional, and which tell a great story. A lot of people read into my lyrics and think they know me completely from them, but I’m not always as transparent as people might think.”
With a refreshed energy and new vitality, Delta began work on her third studio album in 2006, but she only found the right path in December that year after many sessions with some of the world’s best songwriters and producers. “The turning point came with the album’s opening song ‘Believe Again’. Before that I was feeling a little unsure about the direction of the new album. That song really turned things around for me in a lot of different ways.” Co-written by Delta with the album’s primary songwriting team of Brian McFadden, Stuart Crichton and Tommy Lee James, the song represents a celebratory new lease on life, which is echoed on the album’s first single ‘In This Life’. The songs on ‘Delta’ range from edgier offerings like ‘You Will Only Break My Heart’, through to the Celtic-influenced ‘The Guardian’, the country-styled ‘Woman’, and the spine-tingling and incredibly resonant ‘Angels In The Room’, all reinforcing Delta’s abilities as a singer/songwriter who has made all the right choices with her new album.
The music on ‘Delta’ was made with the assistance of a world-class collection of producers that included John Shanks (Kelly Clarkson, Backstreet Boys), Stuart Crichton (Sugababes, Kylie Minogue), Marius DeVries (Madonna, U2), Steve Mac (Westlife, Boyzone), and Steve Kipner’s team (Christina Aguilera, Natasha Bedingfield), but nevertheless the album noticeably showcases Delta’s own work as a talented songwriter and performer who knows her own mind. “Working on this album was a very relaxed process, partially due to the fact that I got on so well with everyone that helped out. It was a lot more free; less intense then previously. We had time on our hands to work on material, and we had a real connection with each other, which allowed me to say exactly what I thought throughout the whole process. I know what I want from my music in the studio, and I’m not afraid to stand my ground with whoever I’m working with. Every song has to seed from me – the actual seed from where the plant grows has to come from me and my heart, and that’s when it it’s the most honest representation of me.”
With her new album, Delta wants to break down the complexities and the baggage that surrounds her public image. “When I think back to it now, ‘Mistaken Identity’ was complicated… but then I was complicated at the time – I was hurt, I was in pain, and that was exactly what the record was about. I don’t want this record to be complicated. I don’t want to come back like that – I want to be free-spirited. I am different now, in the sense that I’ve grown and I feel much more independent.”
Delta is very proud of this new album and feels it’s a great representation of where and who she is at the moment, “It feels like I’ve turned the corner and everything in front of me is super-exciting, and I’m just looking forward to people hearing my music again.”
