{"id":671443,"date":"2026-05-15T00:06:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T00:06:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/671443\/"},"modified":"2026-05-15T00:06:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T00:06:08","slug":"eurovision-2026-delta-goodrem-sends-australia-to-the-grand-final-with-note-perfect-performance-eurovision-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/671443\/","title":{"rendered":"Eurovision 2026: Delta Goodrem sends Australia to the grand final with note-perfect performance | Eurovision 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Standing before a glistening crescent moon and adorned in more than 7,000 Swarovski crystals, Australia\u2019s 2026 Eurovision<\/a> hopeful Delta Goodrem delivered a powerful performance on the 70th anniversary of the global song contest \u2013 and become the first Australian act to qualify for the grand final since 2023.<\/p>\n

Heading into the competition as an early favourite<\/a> behind Eurovision heavy-hitters Denmark and Finland, Goodrem delivered a note-perfect rendition of her power-ballad entry, Eclipse. The track is impressive if a little formulaic \u2013 and of the 35 countries competing, 15 are represented by solo female performers, so Goodrem needed to find a way to stand out in a crowded field.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Despite playing it safe, Goodrem\u2019s performance was precise and undeniable. After making a dramatic trek downstage and towards her piano \u2013 bedazzled in sparkling gold, of course \u2013 Goodrem performed a short piano solo (although the camera was unexpectedly obstructed in this moment, making it difficult to see Goodrem actually play the instrument).<\/p>\n

The performance climaxed with a key change, and the 41-year-old singer was propelled into the air on a platform that rose from within the piano itself. There was wind, there was fire, there was Goodrem\u2019s remarkable upper range \u2013 it was a refreshingly self-assured offering from Australia after a disappointing couple of years for the country in the competition.<\/p>\n

Australia\u2019s first appearance at Eurovision was in 2014, when Jessica Mauboy performed as an interval act during the competition\u2019s semi-finals. Last year\u2019s Australian entry, Go-Jo, failed to wow judges<\/a> and did not progress to the grand final with his campy ode to self-confidence, Milkshake Man. In 2024, duo Electric Fields made history<\/a> as the first Australian Eurovision entrants to perform in Yankunytjatjara \u2013 a traditional language of the A\u1e49angu peoples \u2013 yet their song One Milkali (One Blood) also failed to progress beyond the semi-final.<\/p>\n

Only 35 countries are competing at Eurovision this year, the lowest number of entries since 2003. Ireland, Iceland, Spain, Slovenia and the Netherlands all boycotted the 2026 competition<\/a>, citing Israel\u2019s participation in Eurovision and the Israeli government\u2019s attacks on Gaza.<\/p>\n

Ahead of her debut performance at the semi-finals, Goodrem said: \u201cPerforming on the Eurovision stage is something I feel so deeply in my heart, carrying Australia with me in every note and every moment.\u201d This week, Goodrem announced her seventh studio album, Pure, will be released on 6 November.<\/p>\n

The Eurovision song contest grand final will air on SBS On Demand from 5am AEST on Sunday 17 May.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Standing before a glistening crescent moon and adorned in more than 7,000 Swarovski crystals, Australia\u2019s 2026 Eurovision hopeful…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":671444,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":["post-671443","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/671443","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=671443"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/671443\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/671444"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=671443"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=671443"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=671443"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}