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[The Controller]

WHEN Delta Goodrem blindsided fans by announcing a new single Dear Life last week there was one slight problem.

She hadn’t quite finished the song.

Indeed while fans can already pre-order the ballad, Goodrem has only just signed off on the final version of Dear Life, after tweaking a lyric at the 11th hour and getting the production to match exactly how she heard it in her head, pushing the deadline until the last possible minute.

“I can’t let it go until my heart and soul is ready to let it go,” Goodrem admits.

“I’ve learnt something about myself over the past few years,” she says. “I’ve become quite spontaneous. You have to listen to yourself and follow your instincts. Even when I do live shows I can change the setlist before I walk on stage.

“I wasn’t always like that. I used to be the person who’d prepare everything in advance. But sometimes things just feel right at a particular moment. And this song just happened. It was a lightning bolt moment. I had to act fast.”

While Goodrem started writing Dear Life late last year, she was planning to release an upbeat song to follow the radio-seducing Wings, which became her ninth No. 1 last year.

Another collaboration with Sydney’s DNA Songs, Goodrem had pulled an all-nighter to finish the up-tempo song before presenting it to her label Sony.

At 11pm she started playing Dear Life on the piano and within minutes Goodrem and DNA were writing the song and changing their plans.

“We had this emotional moment as the song unfolded in front of us,” Goodrem says.
“It was one of those moments that just happened. We weren’t trying to make it happen. We were working so hard on this other song and then we just channelled this one. We were ready to go with the other song, but this was the right song. That’s the fun thing about music, there’s no one way to do this. Wings was similar. That all came together at the last minute too.”

Goodrem says the new ballad is “a letter to life.”

“Dear Life is meant to be a conversation,” she says. “It’s a positive song. It’s a song with clarity. It’s not remotely ‘woe is me’, it’s more about strength. It’s about questions we ask in general, reflecting on things we’ve gone through.”

One lyric states “I’m a survivor” but Goodrem says it’s not as literal as many might suggest.

“There’s always going to be that beautiful connection I’ve had growing up in front of people but it’s not about me. It never has been. I want people to have my music for their lives. The song has lyrics that are strong and straightforward and powerful and I know through my different moments I’ve gravitated to music for those kind of songs for myself.”

It’s also good timing for a ballad — with Adele, Lukas Graham and a new No. 1 by Gnash showing that commercial radio remember people can enjoy things other than club bangers.

“Ballads are my home,” Goodrem says. “I write the songs on piano. I was going to go with an up-tempo song, but I can do that next. My heart swayed me back to a ballad. This just feels like the right song right now.”

Goodrem spent several months on the road as Grizabella in the latest production of Cats, stunning audiences with her take on the musical’s classic song Memory.

While her name may have sold tickets, backstage Goodrem did her own make-up and had no diva treatment.

“I wanted to live the full experience,” Goodrem says. “It’s actually changed me a lot. I profoundly loved getting to sing and perform every single day, getting to be in a cast, to be part of a team.”

Indeed, it has prompted Goodrem to return to Australian stages this year, she’s expecting to announce her own tour shortly.

“I can’t wait to sing Memory at the next tour,” she says. “A tour is 100 per cent on the horizon.”

There’s also offers to do more musicals: she notes “It’s something I really want to explore when I find the right one to step into again.”

Fans can also be relieved that Goodrem’s fifth album will “definitely” be released this year, and she will perform Dear Life at this year’s Logies.

http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/music...dcca9eef5501c18