We Ranked The Debut Singles Of Former Aussie Soap Stars
They didn’t have to do it to us, but they did.
Over the decades, many famous Aussies have gone from the humble Ramsay Street or picturesque Summer Bay to fly the coop and showcase their singing talents for all of us.
Some fared better than others: for example, Delta Goodrem went on to launch a hugely successful singing career, while unfortunately we didn’t hear a peep out of Bec Hewitt after her venture into the recording booth.
Not all soap stars turned pop stars are equal, so we decided to rank their debut efforts from worst to best.
*Well at least the debut efforts of the ones we could remember or that came up in a Google search.
11. ‘Don’t It Make You Feel Good’ – Stefan Dennis
You may know Stefan Dennis as Paul Robinson on Neighbours but did you know he released a song in the late ’80s? This is honestly pure nightmare fuel and I’m so upset I stumbled across it.
10. ‘All Seats Taken’ – Bec Cartwright
Look this is a MOMENT in ’00s pop culture (well this song and Bec’s poem to husband Lleyton Hewitt of course) but let’s not lie: this song wasn’t good and the lyrics were even worse. “I skip my entree, and stick to table water, I’ve got my main course for dessert,” Bec sings. Girl, love yourself! Eat your bloody entree!
9. ‘Send Me A Sign’ – Sam Clark
I’m not gonna lie, I’m not really sure who this man is apart from the fact he was allegedly on Neighbours and looks like he’s fronting a Lifehouse cover band. The song is fine? Can’t remember the chorus already though.
8. ‘Nothing Can Divide Us‘ – Jason Donovan
I mean, I think if you were into the ’80s you’d probably be into this song by Neighbours‘ Jason Donovan. The chorus is kinda catchy, ngl.
7. ‘Pointless Relationship’ – Tammin Sursok
This song has actually aged well and is still a low-key banger. Home and Away‘s Tammin Sursok sings about a useless man in her life and look, I feel that.
6. ‘Voodoo Child’ – Rogue Traders
OK, this wasn’t the Rogue Traders first-ever single but it was their first one with Neighbours‘ Nat Bass at the helm, so it counts in this list. It was an absolute SMASH hit, and is still a certified banger – even Olivia Rodrigo sampled it on her debut album. It loses points for the repetition though, sorry bout it.
5. ‘The Loco-motion’ – Kylie
Kylie is THE original soap star turned singer after starring on Neighbours and boy did she set the gold standard. Objectively, ‘The Loco-motion’ is hardly her best track but because she’s paved the way for pretty much everyone else on this list, she deserves all the accolades.
If we were giving out the top spot based purely on icon status, Kylie would win.
4. ‘Kiss Kiss’ – Holly Valance
We really weren’t ready for Holly back in the day. ‘Kiss Kiss’ is arguably more iconic now than it was back in the ’00s – she really did that. She might not be back on Neighbours any time soon but we can always keep our fingers crossed for Real Housewives.
3. ‘Mistake’ – Stephanie McIntosh
People may argue with my placement of Steph McIntosh here in the top three but I stand by it. The Neighbours star was the first one to deliver us some real pop-punk angst with her debut track ‘Mistake’ and it’s still so damn good.
2. ‘Born To Try’ – Delta Goodrem
As far as debut singles go, this is pretty much it. Delta set a precedent that could never be beaten again with her record-breaking debut album Innocent Eyes. But why is ‘Born To Try’ not number one? Well, it’s a bloody good tune but it’s no ‘Lost Without You’… every single Delta released after ‘Born To Try’ from the album just kept getting better.
1. ‘Torn’ – Natalie Imbruglia
IS THIS THE BEST COVER IN THE WORLD? Yes. ‘Torn’ is still the perfect song to this day – put it on at a party, belt it out at karaoke, play it while you’re crying into your wine after your latest Bumble crush left you on read. It’s the best song to come from a Neighbours (or Home and Away) star and Natalie deserved all the national and international recognition she got from it.