Delta Goodrem Reveals She Spent Last Year Learning To Speak (And Sing) Again After Surgery
"I still am a bit confused at how it feels a little bit different to sing now, and I'm still finding that new space, so that's a little bit heartbreaking."
Delta Goodrem has shared a video that documents her time recovering from a surgery last year that left her unable to speak or sing as usual, a struggle which inspired her new song ‘Paralyzed’.
On Sunday night, Goodrem shared a video across social media detailing the experiences behind her new song, revealing for the first time publicly that she had her salivary gland removed in October 2018. A complication during surgery saw one of her tongue nerves damaged, impacting her speech.
“As a songwriter, I write songs from my own experiences. I tell stories about the path I have been on, wondering if anyone else has been on a similar journey,” she wrote in a caption. “The first step in writing this new record was a personal transformation that I didn’t know I needed in my life.”
“I share this with you as an artist sharing where the poetry in this song comes from and as a human who deeply feels and understands that everyone has their own story and their own challenges they are overcoming each day. You never know what someone is going through and this is an extremely hard time for people.”
In the video, we see Goodrem recover over months — there are hospital bed talks of ‘rebirth’, tearful moments and outbursts of frustration, as she slowly recovers via months of strenuous speech therapy.
“I wanted to share my story and say why I hadn’t had music out for so long, and why this song, and why I wrote it,” she says in the video. “It’s been a strange process not actually sharing it straight away, but I just didn’t know if I was ready yet.”
Towards the end, we see Goodrem perform ‘Paralyzed’, though she admits that singing, unfortunately, still feels different.
“I still am a bit confused at how it feels a little bit different to sing now, and I’m still finding that new space, so that’s a little bit heartbreaking.”
Watch the emotional video below, which has resulted in an outpouring of love on social media for Goodrem, who has had health issues previously — in 2003 and 2004, she battled cancer. Revisit ‘Paralyzed’ below, and our recent interview with Goodrem.