Delta Goodrem is good at everything she turns her hand to, and it seems that’s the very reason fans of Strictly Come Dancing are turning off her.
Does that make sense? Not really. Is it a common occurrence? Absolutely.
Let’s backtrack for a second.
The 41-year-old is competing in Strictly Come Dancing — the UK version of Dancing with the Stars — and, so far, she’s absolutely killing it. She topped the leaderboard for the second week in a row with her salsa to Chaka Khan’s Ain’t Nobody with professional partner Kai Widdrington, and many people are admiring her efforts.
“They look really suited together. I think they will do well,” one fan said, while others simply commented on how much they love the duo.
However, another (much grumpier) sentiment is creeping over the couple, and it’s basically that they’re “too good” to win.
Isn’t that an oxymoron? I’m confused.
What are British fans saying about Delta Goodrem?
Delta and Kai scored 33 out of a possible 40 points from the judges on Saturday night in London, and were praised for how in sync their dancing was, as well as their storytelling.
However, viewers of the show have started saying they couldn’t tell which of the two dancers was the professional. Although this is high praise, it’s being used as a stick to beat Delta with, as some people now claiming she doesn’t deserve to win because she’s a “trained dancer”.
“My comments were the same: ‘Who was the professional?'” one woman said, while another commented that Delta ‘wasn’t for her’ because her “marks were too high”.
Viewers have started to believe she has an unfair advantage because she’s a professional singer, assuming she’s trained in dance.
For context, unlike Dancing with the Stars, where professionally trained dancers are welcome on the show (hey, Zendaya!), public opinion for the UK version is that the dancers in the competition need to be amateurs to be worthy of their spot in the competition.
Whispers of Delta being professionally trained are working against her. And the kicker is, it’s not even true.
Delta went to dance lessons as a child, yes, but she’s never trained in dance beyond a few moves she’s needed to learn during her singing performances over the years.
It’s something a few loyal fans of Delta are pointing out.
“Just to remind everyone. Delta doesn’t even have a dance background compared to past popstars we’ve had on the show. Her music is more similar to Celine Dion. So no, she does not have any background in dance. She just has that musicality in her bones.’
It seems, yet again, Delta has fallen victim to tall poppy syndrome. The wrong assumption about her dancing experience only feeds into that attitude.
For what it’s worth, I’m cheering her on from all the way over here in Sydney.
God forbid a woman be talented.
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