Australian superstar Delta Goodrem returns this week with her brand new single, Back To Your Heart, as she prepares to embark on her first-ever UK headline tour.
The ’80s-inspired single is the first taste of the forthcoming eighth album from the singer, who is also celebrating 20 years since the release of her debut LP, ‘Innocent Eyes’, and the upbeat direction was inspired by her 2022 North American tour with Backstreet Boys.
“That last album was so intense and heavy; it was me at the piano asking, ‘Where do we come from? How did I get here? What do I need to do to heal and work through?’… It was a real deep dive,” admits the singer-songwriter of 2021’s ‘Bridge Over Troubled Dreams’, conceived at the height of Sydney’s strict Covid lockdown, which encouraged her to take a step back and “have a retrospective moment”.“But when the borders opened up and we could go back to travelling, I toured with the Backstreet Boys and I was surrounded by so much fun, which gave me a sense of freedom in what I wanted to do now!”
The new single is a shimmering, synth-heavy extravaganza of a pop track that sees Delta channel personal influences like ‘80s icon Belinda Carlisle for a three-and-a-half minute slice of unadulterated euphoria. “It was like, ‘This is my lane, let’s lean into that’,” she tells RETROPOP’s September issue. “My shows are about empowering everybody in the room and having that unity that comes from being together, which is what made me want to write this particular album.”
Much like the album, the single is co-written and produced by Delta’s partner, Matt Copley, with whom she began collaborating during the pandemic. “During lockdown we did Bunkerdown Sessions on Instagram Live, which was great because he plays every instrument and he’s super quick at picking things up, so we got to do all these different themes – as well as my songs,” she shares.“That really started the ability for us to move into production together and it’s been great. He’s such a talented musician and he is able to translate really fast, so we produce the tracks together and he plays a lot of the instruments that I don’t, so we just keep bouncing off each other for the music.”
The result is an anthemic sound and one that’s inspired by her idols, including her late friend, Olivia Newton-John, and Tina Turner, whose story resonated with Delta, who has experienced strife over the years after being diagnosed with cancer at the age of 18 during the week of her first album release. Of the Queen of Rock & Roll’s influence, she explains: “She went through so much then at 40 years old moved into this amazing new chapter and started playing stadiums. It was insane!
“I feel like this is my Tina Turner era,” she giggles, revealing she has multiple projects on the horizon, including plans to collaborate with Sam Ryder on new music and a pair of films due out later this year.
“There’s all these different sidelines that I have going on at the moment, but after waiting so long it’s really important for me to get out there and do it now,” she smiles. “There’s not one singular trajectory and I’m proud of my story; to have continued to do what I love to do throughout all these years and have No. 1 albums consistently, but I still feel like I’m fired up and ready for a new chapter and a new era.
“You know, everyone’s journey is different and it really is an individual thing, but this era right now feels really good and I’m looking forward to seeing where the music takes me!”
Read the full interview in the September 2023 edition of RETROPOP, out now. Order yours or subscribe via our Online Store, use our Store Finder to locate your nearest stockist, or get Digital Copies delivered direct to your devices.
