Delta Goodrem Powers Australia into Eurovision Final, Emerges as Second Favorite

Delta Goodrem boosted Australia's chances of winning the Eurovision Song Contest with a strong performance of her power ballad Eclipse during Thursday's second semi-final in Vienna.

The Australian singer now ranks as the second favorite, closing the gap on frontrunner Finland. A victory on Saturday would mark Australia's first Eurovision win. The country entered as a one-off wild card in 2015 and has competed regularly since. More than a million Australians tune in each year despite the distance from Europe.

Goodrem, familiar to UK viewers from the soap opera Neighbours, is one of Australia's top-selling female artists. She signed her first record deal at age 15 and has released four number-one albums.

She described her Eurovision run to the BBC as "surprisingly beautiful." "To see people flying the flags for music and being with us has been an awesome thing to see."

Ten acts advanced alongside Goodrem: Albania's Alis with Nân; Bulgaria's Dara with Bangaranga; Cyprus's Antigoni with Jalla; Czechia's Daniel Zizka with Crossroads; Denmark's Søren Torpegaard Lund with Før Vi Går Hjem; Malta's Aidan with Bella; Romania's Alexandra Căpitănescu with Choke Me; Ukraine's Leléka with Ridnym; and Norway's Jonas Lovv with Ya Ya Ya.

Azerbaijan, Luxembourg, Armenia, Switzerland and Latvia failed to qualify and must wait until 2027.

The UK entry debuted to mixed reactions. The singer re-enacted the song's storyline from an office desk into a surreal scene of circuit boards and robotic dancers. Some social media users praised the energy. "UK might actually get some points this year," Dan wrote on Threads. "He showed lots of energy and personality," added Karen Robinson. Others were less impressed. One Reddit user called it a man "huffing and puffing around an exam hall." "I don't think it's our year," C Grinbergs posted on Bluesky.

The UK advanced automatically as one of the Big Four contributors, along with Austria, which hosts as last year's winner.

Bulgaria's Dara opened the semi-final with chair choreography and hair tossing in Bangaranga, a song about confronting anxiety and being bold. Romania's Căpitănescu drew criticism for Choke Me's lyrics, which she said address societal pressures, not sexual violence. She performed straining against neon ropes.

Ropes appeared elsewhere. Azerbaijan's Jiva struggled against restraints in Just Go, about a toxic relationship. Switzerland's Veronica Fusaro was bound in red rope for Alice, on stalking and abuse. Neither qualified.

Cyprus's Antigoni delivered the party track Jalla with belly dancing and Cypriot instruments. Malta's Aidan sang the ballad Bella. France's Monroe performed the chanson Regarde!, urging moments of peace. Norway's Lovv closed with Ya Ya Ya, a rock song like 2021 winners Måneskin. Organizers told him to reduce sexualized moves in rehearsals. "I don't know what they are talking about! I'm the least sexual person in the delegation," he said.

The grand final airs on BBC One, BBC iPlayer, Radio 2 and BBC Sounds from 8 p.m. BST Saturday.