Delta Goodrem sends Australia to Eurovision grand final with glittering performance

VIENNA — Australian singer Delta Goodrem and Romanian metal, a Danish club anthem, advanced to the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 grand final after Thursday’s second semi-final in Vienna.Besides Australia, Denmark and Romania, which bookmakers place among the front-runners, Albania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Malta, Norway and Ukraine secured places in Saturday’s final at the Wiener Stadthalle.But it was Goodnight Vienna for Armenia, Azerbaijan, Latvia, Luxembourg and Switzerland, who saw their Eurovision dreams crumble.In line with the final, this year, the semis were decided by public televoting and also by professional juries.While waiting for the nerve-shredding results reveal, the crowd danced a mass Viennese waltz.Eurovision is the world’s biggest live televised music event, typically reaching more than 150 million viewers, and Vienna 2026 is the 70th edition of the glitzy show where spectacle and drama go hand in hand.Standing before a glistening crescent moon and adorned in more than 7,000 Swarovski crystals, Goodrem delivered a powerful performance on the 70th anniversary of the global song contest and became the first Australian act to qualify for the grand final since 2023.Heading into the competition as an early favorite behind Eurovision heavy-hitters Denmark and Finland, Goodrem delivered a note-perfect rendition of her power-ballad entry, Eclipse.Of the 35 countries competing, 15 were represented by solo female performers, so Goodrem needed to find a way to stand out in a crowded field.Despite playing it safe, Goodrem’s performance was precise and undeniable. After making a dramatic trek downstage and toward her piano, Goodrem performed a short piano solo.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’s remarkable upper range – it was a refreshingly self-assured offering from Australia after a disappointing couple of years for the country in the competition, the Guardian newspaper remarked.Australia’s first appearance at Eurovision was in 2014, when Jessica Mauboy performed as an interval act during the competition’s semi-finals.Thursday’s concert saw Switzerland’s Veronica Fusaro tangled up in red webbing, Londoner Antigoni singing the sultry “Jalla” for Cyprus and Ukraine’s Leleka hitting some ear-shredding high notes.Bulgarian pop singer Dara got the party started with some highly choreographed dancing on “Bangaranga”.Filmed in close-up, the Czech Republic’s Daniel Zizka sang “Crossroads” in a hall of mirrors that began swirling like a zoetrope.Armenia’s Simon worked up a sweat on “Paloma Rumba”, a song about a man “stuck on a wage / In a rage”, which saw him trapped in a lift, wearing a jacket covered in yellow sticky notes.Romania swung the show into heavy rock on “Choke Me”, which caused a minor furor in the Eurovisionbuild-up over the lyrics.However, singer Alexandra Capitanescu, a master’s student at the Faculty of Physics in Bucharest, defended the song’s meaning.”Unlike the classic heart, which represents romance or cute love, the anatomical heart suggests vulnerability… and emotions that feel intense, physical and almost painful,” she insisted.There were quieter moments too: Latvia’s Atvara sang the gentle “Ena” seemingly in a swirl of broken glass.Meanwhile, Albania’s Alis sang his song “Nan”, about missing one’s mother, in which veteran Albanian actress Rajmonda Bulku, 67, appears as a fleeting maternal figure, touching his face.”The first idea was to have my mum on stage but I couldn’t make it: I would get so emotional,” he said.Denmark’s Soren Torpegaard Lund is gaining traction with “For Vi Gar Hjem” (“Before We Go Home”), plunging the crowd into the world of nightclubs.”I did a little wave around and just hearing the roar is crazy. I’ve never played for so many people,” said Lund, whose background is in musical theater.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, citing Israel’s participation in Eurovision and the Israeli government’s attacks on Gaza.Ahead of her debut performance at the semi-finals, Goodrem said: “Performing on the Eurovision stage is something I feel so deeply in my heart, carrying Australia with me in every note and every moment.”This week, Goodrem announced her seventh studio album, Pure, will be released on November 6.