TMN RETROSPECTIVE REPORT: Delta dominates – 2003

TMN celebrates two decades in this ever-shifting music industry by taking a look back at the key moments – both triumphant and tumultuous – in the Australian music business.

2003
DELTA DOMINATES

Delta Goodrem came to mainstream success through the TV soap Neighbours, which was a veritable pop factory in its heyday. Unlike Natalie Imbruglia and Kylie Minogue, whose initial pop singles spawned from their small-screen success, Goodrem’s career was choreographed from the beginning; John Farnham’s longtime manager Glen Wheatley, who was looking after Goodrem, suggested her on-screen character be an aspiring vocalist, and a tie-in in which Delta performed lead single Born to Try on Neighbours (at Lassiters, no less) saw the song hit #1 in November 2002.

A second #1, Lost Without You, followed in February 2003, and her debut full-length Innocent Eyes entered at #1 on the ARIA Charts in March of 2003, spending 29 weeks at the top, breaking the Australian record for longest time at #1 – previously held by another Wheatley charge, John Farnham, whose ’86 album Whispering Jack spent 25 weeks in pole position. The album went on to sell one million copies in Australia (14 x Platinum), selling 4.5 million copies worldwide, spawning five #1 singles, and debuting at #2 in the UK.

Less than four months after the album’s release Goodrem was sadly diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma which halted her promotional schedule, if not the record’s stunning retail run. Of course, as with all overnight success stories, this was a long time in the making, with Goodrem signing to Sony when she was 15; a 2001 debut single I Don’t Care stalled at #64 on the ARIA chart.

Our year on year reports are published courtesy of the Australian Music Industry Quarterly magazine. For your free copy click here.