THERE’S a tougher, political side to Delta Goodrem we don’t often see. The celebrated pop singer has joined the growing chorus of celebrities calling for same-sex marriage to be legalised.
And she’s putting her money where her mouth is by marching in the annual Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade on Saturday.
“I believe in equality,” she says. “It is a non-conversation for me.
“Some of my best friends are gay, so I can’t understand any other way of thinking except that love is love.”
Goodrem will appear in an official capacity as the face of Oral-B’s new 3D White tooth whitening range.
She’ll be on the Oral-B float and will perform at Sydney’s Taylor Square during the parade.
“I love the fact that I can do something like Mardi Gras, which is my way of saying I support and love my friends,” she says.
“We are coming up with some really creative things so the float will be spectacular. It will have everything that is a part of my kookiness.”
Goodrem recalls performing at the Mardi Gras dance party last year.
“It was one of my favourite performances,” she says.
“It was such an incredible night. I couldn’t love performing more. Every big performance feels like Christmas morning for me.
“Even though there is a lot of adrenalin because you want to do a great job, I get the fire in me, especially when you get to live out the fantasy of what we do on stage.”
There’s a cheeky, theatrical side to Goodrem she hopes people are starting to recognise.
Australia fell in love with her as Nina Tucker on Neighbours, the girl next door who went on to become one of our most successful female singers of the past decade.
“I’m conscious that I’ve grown up in the public eye so I feel like I’ve been a part of the family,” she explains.
“I’ve felt like I’ve had to show off those different layers bit by bit over time. I am cheeky. I am young. I’m in my last year of my 20s and I want to make it count.”
Goodrem is one of our most successful singers, launching on to the pop charts with the hit single Born To Try off the back of her run on the popular Channel 10 soap.
She’s released four albums — Innocent Eyes, Mistaken Identity, Delta and Child of the Universe — and is currently working on new music for later this year.
Also on the cards is a return to the Nine Network reality TV singing franchise The Voice.
While she won’t be participating in the adult version, the Los Angeles-based Goodrem recently filmed the audition phase of The Voice Kids, where she joins Mel B and Good Charlotte’s Benji and Joel Madden as voice coaches.
Having appeared as a child actor on shows such as A Country Practice, Police Rescue and Hey Dad!, she felt a connection to the younger children auditioning.
“It was a really emotional roller-coaster because they reminded me of what it was like having those first big TV experiences,” she says.
“Kids aren’t thinking about their past or about their future; they are just being really present.
“I had already made an album by the time I was 12, so I know how to see the natural ability — I can then help them go to the next level.”
She is also keen to let her contestants explore their own creativity, to express themselves through music.
“There is plenty of room for all types of performances. Art is subjective. We all don’t have the same taste so I’m really big on my kids wanting to be or do whatever they want, and I will support that.”
That said, she’s got rules.
“It doesn’t mean I don’t want them to be driven and disciplined, that’s a whole other thing,” she says.
“I want these kids to have a great experience, to be sponges. This is their time to shine.”
Goodrem will celebrate her 30th birthday in November. Would she ever consider plastic surgery?
“I am still young and I’ve got plenty of time to think about that later in life,” she says diplomatically.
“Much like everything else, I really am not someone who judges what other people want to do in the sense that whatever makes somebody feel good in any form of their life. At the moment, I am OK but later on I might feel differently.”
Delta Goodrem will appear on the Oral-B float at Mardi Gras on Saturday. For the full interview, tune in to Confidential on Nova 96.9 from 7pm tonight.
