LIVE REVIEW: Delta Goodrem – Sydney Coliseum Theatre

It’s been 20 years since the release of Delta Goodrem’s record-breaking debut album “Innocent Eyes”, and if you grew up in Australia then it’s safe to say that this album played a special place in your life in one way or another. All five singles from the album reached #1 on the ARIA charts, and they still now find a way to live rent free in my mind word-for-word. And as a whole body of work, the record spent 29 weeks at #1 and found a way into everyone’s hearts with its honest vulnerability and storytelling that still makes it an integral piece of Australian music history. While songs like “Throw It Away”, “Butterfly” and “My Big Mistake” weren’t official singles, they genuinely feel like they were because of how much the album was consumed, and how memorable they still are 20 years on.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of this special album, Delta is hitting the road for a special SOLD OUT national tour where she’s playing the record in its entirety for the first ever time. Opening the run of shows at the Sydney Coliseum Theatre, the excited crowd packed into the theatre with an eagerness as they knew they were about to witness something very special.

The stage was dressed in all white with a grand piano with butterflies hanging out of it displayed centre-stage. With the lights dimming, a spoken intro began with Delta explaining what “Innocent Eyes” means to her after all these years. With the band then igniting, Delta walked out for the opening song “Born To Try” to a rapturous response from the audience in a dress and pant combo. “Welcome to the Innocent Eyes 20th Anniversary Tour” Delta gushed as she looked out into the crowd. Explaining that she was going to play the album track by track, she asked the audience to imagine you were pressing play on your Walkman or your CD player and going on the full journey with her. And that is what she did. Going straight into title track “Innocent Eyes”, then “Not Me, Not I”, “Throw It Away”, “Lost Without You” and “Predictable” she immersed the audience into nostalgic-filled and joyous singalongs that felt really tender and warm.

In-between songs she told the stories behind them with little anecdotes that you maybe didn’t know beforehand. She shared the original up-beat version of “Not Me, Not I” that her label wanted her to release before she stripped it back to its ballad form, which then went number one. She then explained during her cancer recovery she kept dreaming of performing live again and longed to perform “Butterfly”, so that’s why she opened her “The Visualise Tour” with that song. She also told the crowd that if there was one song she could remove from the album it would be “My Big Mistake”, which she then performed against her will while also playing guitar. Throughout the show she jumped between playing the piano, to standing and locking eyes with everyone as she walked across the stage. She even had some choreography she performed with the band during “Running Away”.

Due to the theatre setting of this tour, it felt very intimate and made for some special interactive moments between Delta and the audience. Early into the show someone yelled out “Congratulations on the engagement” which she gushingly thanked them for and then ran over to her fiancé Matthew (who is in her band) and kissed him. Following the album’s conclusion with “Will You Fall For Me”, each member of her band went into the audience to find someone to ask Delta a question. Some people didn’t have questions and just wanted to gush their admiration for her and ask for photos, while others thought of very insightful questions about her relationship with the album, and a sweet young girl asked her how “Butterfly” was made.

Following a quick costume change Delta returned to the stage for a medley of hits that saw her performing snippets of “Almost Here”, “In This Life”, “Believe Again”, “Sitting On Top Of The World”, “Wings”, “Enough”, and “The Power”. She then wanted to give the audience a glimpse into the new era with a full performance of current single “Back To Your Heart” which feels so electric live. Thanking the crowd for coming out for this beautiful celebration of music, she ran off the stage. But she wasn’t exactly finished. Returning for an encore performance of B-Side “Here I Am”, she then ended with a reprise of “Born To Try” with confetti filling the air.

I genuinely can’t believe I got to see “Innocent Eyes” live in its entirety in 2023, and as you walked out of the venue the rest of the audience were sharing that sentiment too. It felt like this beautiful and poignant celebration of a record that played a major part in so many peoples lives. Some fans weren’t old enough to see the original “The Visualise Tour”, so this was their first time being able to really celebrate this album completely with her. It’s a show that a lot of people including myself won’t forget for a long time, and will hold really close to them as they too got to see some of their favourite Delta songs like “Throw It Away” and “My Big Mistake” (sorry Delta) live for the first time.