Australia's music sweetheart is the target of a terrible and cowardly online campaign of abuse, prompting even some of her critics to leap to her defence.

It’s boosted her profile and propelled her single to the top of the charts, but the voice of the haters is starting to get to Delta.

Dominating Twitter, Facebook and other social media websites are vitriolic sledges against the woman Australia fell in love with when she was just sixteen-years-old.

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Ten years later the tide has turned. Now everything from her looks and mannerisms, to the way she tosses her hair, and even Delta’s battle with cancer and her acclaimed voice have come under attack.

Blogger and journalist for the Sunday Telegraph, Miranda Devine is a diehard Delta defender.

"She's just been a fantastic judge. She's held her own against judges who are older and more experienced, and men - they don't have the same sort of worries that she has about hair and makeup and costume and so on, and she's been targeted by this vicious hate campaign," Devine said.

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“I think there is this vicious streak in Australia that loves to target young and vulnerable people - women especially. We did it to Kylie Minogue, we did it to Nicki Webster, and now Delta is the target, and I think it's a small minority of people who are really sociopaths."

While Delta admits she’s been hurt by the comments, reminding people she is a human after all, it was the host of The Voice Darren McMullan who fought back after one of Delta’s protégés had a go at the singer.

"This is a woman who, I will give you the reality of it, who behind the scenes was rude to me. I mean lucky that Delta turned her chair and gave her the opportunity to sing in front of five million people. Let’s be honest, it’s the most she will probably ever sing in front of," McMullan said.

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Mumbrella’s social media commentator Cathie McGinn says the online haters forge a mob-like mentality, forgetting comments are permanently etched on the web for all to see.

"I think for a start it's very hurtful. It's actually legally quite tricky - you're defaming someone online," McGinn said.

"There's a high volume of conversation on twitter, so there's new tweets coming through on that hash tag every couple of seconds, and I think people get really addicted to having people share their comment and respond to them. You're connecting with strangers and that's actually quite intoxicating, but what it seems to do is cause people to be the most obnoxious, say the most controversial things, because it gets the most response."

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And while there has been plenty of public support for Delta, with comments referring to her charity work and her undeniable talent, News Limited’s Di Butler says part of being a celebrity is understanding that not everybody will like you.

"This happens to everyone. You get the love, and then at some point the hate happens as well - it happens to everyone. So she had to expect it at some point," Butler said.