The Prayer

The audio is quite low, so you need to turn up your speakers!

After spending most of 2008 overseas, pop princess Delta Goodrem has been given an enthusiastic welcome home by fans at the start of her Believe Again tour.

The 24-year-old singer kicked off her first Australian tour in more than three years this weekend, with two shows in Newcastle and the first of three Sydney concerts on Sunday night.

Fiance Brian McFadden opened the show at Sydney’s State Theatre in a low-key fashion, offering up a few jokes for the audience’s amusement while a technical problem was fixed. McFadden started his three-song set with Twisted, off his latest album, before introducing a cover of the Guns `n’ Roses classic Patience to cheers from the young female audience.

“How do you know who Guns `n’ Roses are? You’re like 12,” he laughed. Like Only A Woman Can, which was inspired by Goodrem, was enthusiastically received, but it was clear who everyone had come to see.

Chanting her name, letter by letter, the crowd screamed and cheered as Goodrem appeared on stage in a blue sequined Bowie gown to her song Believe Again.

“I’m very excited to be singing these songs for you tonight,” Goodrem said, “We are all beyond excited.” Goodrem sang hits of her three albums, including In This Life, Born To Try, Butterfly and Mistaken Identity.

“We love you Delta,” screamed her fans.

“I love you too. You look lovely,” she replied.

Goodrem spent most of the past year trying to launch her career in the US, playing small club shows and performing on The Late Show with David Letterman. Despite being out of the public spotlight in Australia, her album Delta received the ARIA Award for highest selling album of 2008.

She seemed glad to be home on Monday night beaming in a series of outfits by Australian designers including J’Aton, Lisa Ho and Manning Cartell.

“I have come to terms with everything that has gone on in the past couple of years,” she said, introducing Out Of The Blue, which she wrote in 2004 about then-boyfriend Mark Philippoussis.

Goodrem is to perform in Adelaide, Wollongong, Melbourne , Canberra, Brisbane and Perth.

Source.

While Delta was still in the US last year, she did a photoshoot for Miami-based Aventura magazine (see here). There’s sixteen gorgeous photos for the spread, all added to the gallery.

View them here

Magazine Scans | Matt Jones Photoshoot (Edited Scans)

Delta Goodrem has spoken out about her forthcoming marriage to Brian McFadden.

“It’s going, it’s on its way. We’re looking forward to it, we’re looking forward to getting married now,” she revealed at the An Enduring Vision gala in New York.

“We’re just trying to organise it at the moment.”

After three years of dating, the former Westlife singer decided to pop the question to the Australian beauty, and the couple are reportedly expected to walk up the aisle in Sydney in late 2009.

In the meantime, Delta is trying to kick off her music career in the US with the release of her latest album, Delta, and has been spending a lot of time in New York.

“I’ve been embracing New York recently,” she continued. “I did all the tourist things you can imagine, even though I’ve always spent time here with the music. I went to the Rockefeller Centre for ice-skating, I went to the zoo the other day for my birthday and I went to the Tavern on the Green for dinner, so I’ve been embracing the life here.”

She admitted that the frenetic pace of life in the Big Apple was addictive.

“The energy is fascinating,” added the 24-year-old. “I love how you can do so much in one night. I could come here for half an hour, then go somewhere and have a hot chocolate there for half an hour. You can do everything in the space of an hour, and people are OK with it. There’s no hanging around, I love it.”