Darren Hayes dishes: I know the real Delta

While The Voice coach Delta has received mixed reviews on social media, her friend Darren says there’s more to the star than meets the eye.

Delta Goodrem has been labelled everything from a “goddess” to a “phony” by The Voice viewers on Twitter. But her close friend, the former frontman of Savage Garden Darren Hayes, says far from being a cookie-cutter pop star, Delta is no pushover. “She’s so beautiful and she has an incredible voice, but that’s frustrating if you know her personally, because she is so much more complicated than that,” Darren tells Woman’s Day.

The pair have been close since Darren brought Delta – who was battling Hodgkin’s lymphoma at the time – and the nation to tears at the 2003 ARIA Awards by performing a rendition of her hit song Lost Without You. “I didn’t know her then. I was just asked by her management if I would come and surprise her,” the singer-songwriter recalls. “She really shouldn’t have been at the awards. That’s how sick she was.”

The pair didn’t get the chance to meet that night but Delta was so touched by the gesture, she treated Darren to dinner at the famous Bondi Icebergs once she had gone into remission. They hit it off instantly. “I see so much of myself in her journey as an artist, and I love her,” he smiles. “She is a lot cheekier than the public know and I like that on The Voice it comes out. My friend is cheeky and she has a wicked sense of humour.”

It’s obvious the love is mutual. Delta personally requested Darren join her in mentoring her team of singers on The Voice. “I like that the show allows Delta to be a woman and a full person,” he says. “She gets into it with Seal, actually, which is quite funny.”