Saara Aalto

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Saara Aalto
Saara Aalto (2) 20180508 EuroVisionary (cropped).jpg
Aalto at the Eurovision Song Contest 2018
Background information
Birth nameSaara Sofia Aalto
Born (1987-05-02) 2 May 1987 (age 37)
Oulunsalo, Finland
Genres Pop
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • voice actress
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • piano
Years active1998–present
Labels
Website www.saaraaalto.com

Saara Sofia Aalto (born 2 May 1987) [1] is a Finnish singer, songwriter and voice actress. In 2012, she came second in the first season of The Voice of Finland .

Contents

In 2016, Aalto finished as the runner-up in the thirteenth series of The X Factor UK, which gained her international recognition.

In 2018, she represented Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018, in which she qualified for the grand final and finished in 25th place. Aalto became a judge on X Factor Suomi during the same year. In 2019, she participated on Dancing on Ice and finished in third place.

Early life

Born in Oulunsalo, Finland, Aalto grew up in a musical family and received piano lessons from pianist and pedagogue Olga Maslak, born in Odessa, Soviet Union. [2] [3] Aalto wrote her first song at the age of five. Her grandfather is painter and documentary director Eeli Aalto and magician Simo Aalto is her uncle. In 1998 at age 11, she won the Kotka Maritime Festival song contest for children with one of her own compositions. Aalto also won the Charlotte Church [4] international singing competition, organised in US, in 2003 with her own composition. [5] [6] Aalto represented Finland in the Golden Stag International Song Contest in Romania in 2004. She went to the Madetoja secondary school for music, where she graduated in 2005. After graduation, she moved to Helsinki to study music at the Sibelius Academy, and at the same time also studied singing in the Helsinki Pop & Jazz Conservatory. [7]

Career

2007–2011: Career beginnings

In 2007, she participated in Talent Suomi ("Talent Finland"), finishing in the top three. [8]

In addition to her singing career, Aalto is also an actress, having starred as Dorothy and Pfannee in the Finnish production of the musical Wicked and as Mary Magdalene in Jesus Christ Superstar . [9] [10] From 2008 to 2011, she appeared in the Helsinki City Theatre musicals, first as Kelsi in High School Musical on Stage! and its second installment, and then in Wicked . [11]

2011, 2016: Eurovision Song Contest

Aalto took part on two separate occasions in the selection process in a bid to represent Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest. She participated in the qualifying rounds in Finland for Eurovision 2011, placing second to Paradise Oskar who went on to represent Finland. She received 40.7% of the public televotes, compared to 46.7% for Oskar. [12] Aalto's recording was released as a single by Yume Records, a self-released record label she founded together with Teemu Roivainen in 2011.

Her second bid to represent Finland was for Eurovision Song Contest 2016 through the competition Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu, again placing second. [13] Although winning the public vote, she was disadvantaged with the judging vote going to the eventual winner Sandhja who went on to represent Finland with the song "Sing It Away". [14] [15]

2010–2013: Success in China

Following her performance of "Blessed with Love" for qualification in Eurovision 2011, that December she was involved in the Santa Claus Season's Greetings Song Contest, where she sang "Ai De Zhu Fu," a Chinese (Mandarin) version of her Eurovision song "Blessed with Love". [16] [17] In November 2012, Aalto was guest vocalist at Robert Wells's highly successful show Rhapsody in Rock [18] at Shanghai Daning theatre. [19] [20] Following a successful performance in Shanghai in May 2013, opening for Spanish tenor José Carreras and singing several songs in Chinese, Aalto returned to the city to duet with tenor Han Peng at the Closing Ceremony of the Shanghai International Film Festival in June 2013, broadcast to over 800 million viewers in 10 countries. [9] [21]

Finding great reception from Chinese audiences, in July 2013 Aalto went on to release a full album destined for Mainland China and other Chinese markets also titled Ai De Zhu Fu. On the album she performed nine of the album's 13 tracks in Mandarin language.

2012: The Voice of Finland

Aalto participated in season one of The Voice of Finland . In the blind auditions, broadcast on 6 February 2012 on the Finnish commercial television channel Nelonen, she performed "Taking Chances" from Celine Dion with all four coaches, Elastinen, Lauri Tähkä, Paula Koivuniemi and Michael Monroe turning their chairs. She opted to be part of Team Monroe.

In the Battle Round on 17 February, she was confronted with team competitor Anna Inginmaa, both singing "True Colors". Coach Monroe opted for Aalto to go to the next round. In the live show on 23 March, she sang "Barracuda" and was saved by Monroe after failing to get enough votes from the public. She followed it up with the French language "Je suis malade" from Serge Lama and was safe after the public vote. In the semifinals with her rendition of "Over the Rainbow", she qualified for the finals held on 20 April where she sang "I'm Gonna Be Strong" from Frankie Laine and an original song titled "My Love". She placed second to winner Mikko Sipola. [22]

2016–present: The X Factor UK, Eurovision Song Contest and Wild Wild Wonderland

Aalto auditioned for the thirteenth UK series of The X Factor in 2016 in front of attending judges Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh and Nicole Scherzinger, singing a cover of Sia's "Chandelier", which earned her three yeses from the judges. [23] At Bootcamp, she performed "On the Radio" by Donna Summer and was sent through as part of the over-25s category, mentored by Sharon Osbourne, who was not present at her audition. At the six-chair challenge, she performed "I See Fire" by Ed Sheeran and was sent home by Osbourne who stated a lack of connection. However, after the crowd chanted to bring her back, Aalto was given a second chance and performed "Je suis malade" by Serge Lama, which caused the crowd to turn on her, while Scherzinger criticized her song choice, stating "we ain't in France". Osbourne then asked Aalto to leave.

Aalto was brought back as Scherzinger's wildcard pick for the over-25s category and therefore went to judges' houses. She was chosen by Osbourne to proceed to the live shows after performing "The Winner Takes It All". In week 1 of the live shows, Aalto finished in the bottom three alongside Freddy Parker and duo Bratavio, after performing "Let It Go". As Parker was saved by the lifeline vote, Aalto faced a sing-off against Bratavio, where she performed "Alive", and was saved with only Walsh voting to eliminate her. The following week, she sang "River Deep – Mountain High" and finished again in the bottom three, this time alongside Ryan Lawrie and Parker. As Lawrie was saved by the lifeline vote, Aalto performed "Run" in a sing-off against Parker. Walsh and Osbourne voted to eliminate Parker while Scherzinger and Cowell, who had the casting vote, voted to eliminate Aalto. The result went to deadlock and Aalto was saved as she had the higher public vote. In week 3 she performed "It's Oh So Quiet" coming 2nd in the public vote, and in week 4 Aalto sang "Bad Romance", placing 3rd in the public vote. In week 5, Aalto finished in the bottom three for the third time alongside Sam Lavery and group Four of Diamonds, after her rendition of "Sound of the Underground". As Lavery was saved by the lifeline vote, Aalto performed "Who You Are" in a sing-off against Four of Diamonds, and was saved with only Walsh voting to eliminate her. Voting statistics revealed that Aalto would have never been in the sing-off had there been no lifeline vote since she was the third least voted on the main vote all three weeks. Her following performances were "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)" in week 6 placing 2nd and "My Heart Will Go On" in week 7 again placing 2nd. In the quarter-final, she sang "The Winner Takes It All" and a medley of "Diamonds Are Forever" and "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend", topping the public vote for the first time. [24] Following the eliminations of Relley C in week 3 and Honey G in the quarter-final, Aalto became Osbourne's last remaining act in the competition.

In the semi-final, she sang a medley of "White Christmas" and "All I Want for Christmas Is You", and "Chandelier" as her second song, topping the vote again reaching the final, where on 10 December she performed "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" and "Bohemian Rhapsody", the latter as a duet with Adam Lambert, again topping the public vote. With the elimination of the group 5 After Midnight she was in the top 2 alongside Matt Terry. In the final on 11 December, she performed "It's Oh So Quiet" and "I Didn't Know My Own Strength". In the ensuing public vote, she placed as the runner-up to eventual winner Matt Terry with 40.4% of the votes.

In a press conference in December 2016, Aalto revealed that she works with the joint effort of ROAR Global and Global career management companies, [25] and that she has signed a five-album recording deal with Sony Music UK and Sony Music Finland. [26] In October 2017, Aalto announced she had left Sony Music for Warner Music Group. In a statement, she said: "I was honoured I was signed to Sony. But later I felt like they weren't the right team. When I met the people at Warner they were very excited about my style and making me into this big theatrical artist." [27] On 7 November 2017, it was announced that Aalto would represent Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in Lisbon, Portugal. [28] The three bidding entries were released by Yle and Saara Aalto, along with an accompanying music video. [29] Aalto was a judge on the second series of the Finnish version of The X Factor, mentoring the girls. Aalto could not attend the finale night of The X Factor Finland due to her commitments with Eurovision, so Terry represented her instead, but her category's last girl, Tika Liljegren, was crowned the winner, making Aalto the winning mentor.[ citation needed ] Aalto announced in March 2018 via social media that her first album under Warner Music Group, Wild Wild Wonderland , would be released on 27 April 2018. [30]

In 2019 Aalto participated in the eleventh series of Dancing on Ice . She was partnered with Hamish Gaman, and after reaching the final, she and Garman finished in third place. [31] Aalto's song Dance Like Nobody's Watching was the official song of Pride in London 2019. [32] [33] That same year, Aalto founded her own record label titled No Fear Music. It was under that label she released her Fairytale – International EP.

In September 2020, Aalto announced the release of her single, "When the Sun Goes Down", a collaboration with British drag queen Baga Chipz. She was also revealed to have parted ways with Warner Music in spring 2020.

In the fall of 2021, Aalto played the lead role in the musical We will rock you in Helsinki, Finland. [34]

Personal life

Aalto was in a nine-year relationship with singer Teemu Roivainen  [ fi ] which ended in 2013. [35] The two continued collaborating in music.

Aalto later began a relationship with a female fan, Meri Sopanen, who worked as a personal trainer and life coach; [36] she has since identified as a lesbian. [37] [38] [39] Aalto and Sopanen became engaged on their second anniversary in August 2016, [40] [41] and moved to London in January 2017. [42] The couple married in April 2020, [43] with Sopanen adopting Aalto's surname, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic they were not able to hold a wedding ceremony and moved back to Finland in the spring of 2020. In the fall of 2021, the couple had a temporary home in Spain before returning to Finland in November. [44] They celebrated their wedding in Italy in June 2023. [45]

Discography

Albums

TitleDetailsPeak chart positions
FIN
[46]
Blessed with Love—
Enkeleitä – Angels
  • Released: 9 November 2011
  • Label: Yume Records Oy
  • Formats: Digital download, CD
—
You Had My Heart
  • Released: 24 May 2013
  • Label: Yume Records Oy
  • Formats: Digital download, CD
43
Ai De Zhu Fu
  • Released: 29 August 2013
  • Label: Yume Records Oy
  • Formats: Digital download, CD
—
Tonight
(with Teemu Roivainen)
  • Released: 8 April 2015
  • Label: Yume Records Oy
  • Formats: Digital download, CD
—
Wild Wild Wonderland
  • Released: 27 April 2018
  • Label: Warner Music
  • Formats: Digital download, CD
2
Fairytale – Joulun taikaa10
"—" denotes an album that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Extended plays

TitleDetails
Fairytale – International

Singles

As lead artist

TitleYearPeak chart positionsAlbum
FIN
[46] 		FIN (Air)
[46] 		ICE
[47] 		SWE
Heat.
[48]
"Blessed with Love" [a] 2011————Blessed with Love
"You Had My Heart"2013————You Had My Heart
"You Raise Me Up"
(with Teemu Roivainen)		2014————Tonight
"No Fear" [b] 2016————Wild Wild Wonderland
"Monsters" [c] 2018136197
"Domino" [c] —18——
"Queens" [c] —12——
"DANCE!!!" [49] ————
"Dance Like Nobody's Watching" [50] 2019————
"Starry Skies"————Fairytale – International
"Tähdet, taivas ja sä"————Fairytale – Joulun taikaa
"Koska et oo täällä enää"—41——
"When the Sun Goes Down"
(with Baga Chipz)		2020————Non-album single
"Every Christmas Day"————Fairytale – International
"—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
TitleYearAlbum
"Sydämesi tyhjä huone"
(Teemu Roivainen featuring Saara Aalto)		2015Sydämesi tyhjä huone

Promotional singles

TitleYearAlbum
"My Love" ( The Voice Performance)2012Non-album singles
"Enkeleitä"2013
"Reach the Stars" [d] 2014
"Feel Vegas"
(with Teemu Roivainen featuring Big Spender)		2015
"Let It Go" [51] 2019

Other appearances

TitleYearOther ArtistsAlbum
"Art of Forgiveness" [52] 2015 Jonna Sound Mind
"All I Ask of You" [e] Waltteri Torikka Sydän

Dubbing

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
2008 The Tale of Despereaux Princess PeaFinnish version
2010 Alice in Wonderland Alice
2011 From Up on Poppy Hill Umi
2012 Brave Soloist
2012 Rise of the Guardians Tooth Fairy
2013 Frozen Anna
2015 Frozen Fever
2017 Olaf's Frozen Adventure
2019 Frozen 2
2024 Wicked Glinda

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2011–present Bubble Guppies MollyFinnish version
2011–2014 Pokémon Iris
2012–present Winx Club Musa
2015 Hey Duggee Norrie
2015 Rocka-Bye Island Lee
2016K3Kylie

Awards and achievements

YearAwardCategoryResultsRef.
2016 Iltalehti Finnish Person of the YearWon [53]
2017Vuoden Positiivisin SuomalainenThe Most Positive Person in FinlandWon [54]

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References

Notes

  1. ↑ Selection process for Finnish entry to Eurovision Song Contest 2011
  2. ↑ Selection process for Finnish entry to Eurovision Song Contest 2016
  3. 1 2 3 Selection process for Finnish entry to Eurovision Song Contest 2018
  4. ↑ To commemorate Chinese New Year 2014 (Year of the Horse) (song in English and Mandarin)
  5. ↑ The Phantom of the Opera

Sources

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  2. ↑ Juha Sutela (14 October 2002). "Unohtumaton ilta Olgan kunniaksi". kaleva.fi. Archived from the original on 9 November 2017. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
  3. ↑ Kimmo Pihlajamaa, Yrjö Mikkonen and Sari Hourula. "Oulun musiikkielämän grand old lady". kaleva.fi. Archived from the original on 9 March 2017. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
  4. ↑ Saara Aalto (8 March 2016). "I wanted to learn to sing like Charlotte Church". facebook. Archived from the original on 21 January 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
  5. ↑ Josh Darvill (9 December 2016). "X Factor 2016: Saara Aalto and Charlotte Church share a surprise connection". TellyMix. Archived from the original on 19 December 2017. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
  6. ↑ Satu Koho (8 May 2008). "Mitä mietti maailmanvalloittaja Saara Aalto uransa alussa? Forum24 haastatteli laulajaa keväällä 2008". forum24.fi. Archived from the original on 9 March 2017. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
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  8. ↑ "Saara Aalto konsertoi Helsingissä » Umami". Umami.fi. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
  9. 1 2 "Finnish Pop Star Saara Aalto To Perform At The Award & Closing Ceremony For The Shanghai International Film Festival". top40-charts.com. Archived from the original on 9 November 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
  10. ↑ "Saara Aalto pestattu Maria Magdalenaksi Lahteen". hs.fi. 1 June 2012. Archived from the original on 10 November 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
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  12. ↑ "Finland sends Paradise Oskar to Düsseldorf!". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  13. ↑ "Ensimmäiset UMK-finalistit valittu – onko joku heistä Suomen euroviisuedustaja?". Yle. 6 February 2016. Archived from the original on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
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  15. ↑ Tony Rojas (29 January 2016). "Saara Aalto: "I want my song to be the happy funeral of fear, where people are dancing together!" (Finnish semifinalist – Exclusive Interview)". www.esc-plus.com. Archived from the original on 9 October 2017. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  16. ↑ "Chinese listeners to vote for best Finnish SANTA CLAUS SEASON'S GREETINGS SONG 2012". Finland.cn. Retrieved 3 March 2017.[ permanent dead link ]
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  18. ↑ "Rhapsody in Rock: Startsidan" . Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  19. ↑ "Robert Wells - "Rhapsody In Rock" Shanghai Edition with guests Saara Aalto, Jia Ruhan & Chen Jun". centerstagechina.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  20. ↑ "Saara Aalto: 'What if you would sing in China?'". dreamdo. 1 January 2012. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
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  24. ↑ "Voting stats 2016 revealed". ITV . 11 December 2016. Archived from the original on 28 September 2018. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  25. ↑ "Saara Aalto kertoi tulevaisuuden suunnitelmistaan lehdistötilaisuudessa". mtv.fi. 20 December 2016. Archived from the original on 15 March 2017. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
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  27. ↑ Mitchell, Bea (25 October 2017). "Saara Aalto leaves Simon Cowell for a new record deal". Digital Spy . United Kingdom: Hearst Corporation . Retrieved 25 October 2017.
  28. ↑ Halpin, Chris (7 November 2017). "Saara Aalto is Finland's Eurovision 2018 act...and will sing three songs during the UMK final". wiwibloggs.com. Wiwibloggs.
  29. ↑ Weaver, Jessica (10 January 2018). "Finland: UMK18 songs to be released next month; first song on 9 February". ESCtoday.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  30. ↑ "Saara Aalto to release Wild Wild Wonderland on April 27th". Escxtra. 28 March 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  31. ↑ eurovisiontj (10 March 2019). "Saara Aalto places 3rd on Dancing on Ice". ESCXTRA.com. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
  32. ↑ "Saara Aalto's 'Dance Like Nobody's Watching' is official song for Pride in London 2019".[ permanent dead link ]
  33. ↑ "Saara Aalto's Dance Like Nobody's Watching is the official song for Pride in London 2019". 4 June 2019.
  34. ↑ "SAARA AALTO : We Will Rock You -musikaali" (in Finnish). Retrieved 6 January 2022.
  35. ↑ "Me Naiset: Saara Aalto erosi miehestään 9 yhteisen vuoden jälkeen". Ilta-Sanomat. 2 May 2013. Archived from the original on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  36. ↑ "Saara Aallon Meri-rakas avoimessa haastattelussa: Ensisuudelma tapahtui minun aloitteestani". mtv.fi. 16 October 2016. Archived from the original on 6 January 2017. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  37. ↑ "X Factor's Saara Aalto was one of Finland's first open lesbian artists and is proud to be an inspiration". Mirror. 15 December 2016. Archived from the original on 23 November 2021. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  38. ↑ "Sanonut et ekoja naisartisteja parisuhteessa naisen kans,niitä ei paljon julkisuudessa ole. Pitää olla varovainen sanavalintojen kans..media". twitter. 16 December 2016. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  39. ↑ Butterworth, Benjamin (23 December 2016). "Saara Aalto opens up about her sexuality as she poses in stunning new photo shoot: 'I've always known gender doesn't matter for me. But now, being with a woman, it's hard to imagine going back to men.'". PinkNews. Archived from the original on 16 March 2017. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  40. ↑ Adams, William Lee (4 October 2016). "X FACTOR REVEALS SAARA AALTO'S FEAR OF NEEDLES…AS HEAT MAGAZINE REPORTS ON HER ENGAGEMENT". Wiwibloggs. Archived from the original on 29 November 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  41. ↑ Douglas, Nicole (22 November 2016). "X Factor's Saara Aalto exclusively reveals the moment her girlfriend proposed: 'For me, it was a surprise!'". OK!. Archived from the original on 14 April 2019. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  42. ↑ "Moving to London". Saara Aalto. 26 January 2017. Archived from the original on 21 June 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  43. ↑ "Saara Aalto on Twitter". twitter.com. 29 April 2020. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  44. ↑ "Saara Aalto repäisi Merin kanssa – uusi koti etelän auringossa: "Meillä on vain menolippu"". www.iltalehti.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 6 January 2022.
  45. ↑ Poutanen, Nina (25 June 2023). "Saara And Meri Aalto Finally Got Their Wedding Celebration In Italy". ESCBubble. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  46. 1 2 3 Peak chart positions in Finland:
  47. ↑ Peak chart positions for songs in Iceland:
  48. ↑ Peak chart positions for songs in Sweden Heatseeker Chart:
  49. ↑ "SONG: Saara Aalto – 'DANCE!!!'". Scandipop.co.uk. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  50. ↑ @SaaraAalto (28 January 2019). "@saaraaalto: 'Dance Like Nobody's Watching' is a song so close to my heart ❤️ I hope it empowers you to be the person you are meant to be. The UK Radio Edit is released on Fri Feb 1st & Music Video at 5:30pm on Sun Feb 3rd.😍" (Tweet). Retrieved 28 January 2019– via Twitter.
  51. ↑ "Let It Go - Single by Saara Aalto". Apple Music. 18 January 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
  52. ↑ "Art of Forgiveness (feat. Saara Aalto) by Jonna". Apple Music. 21 August 2015. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  53. ↑ Miia Vatka (31 December 2016). "Iltalehden lukijat valitsivat: Saara Aalto on vuoden suomalainen!". Iltalehti. Archived from the original on 11 August 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  54. ↑ "Saara Aalto on Vuoden Positiivisin Suomalainen 2017 – Vuoden Positiivisin Suomalainen". vps.positiivarit.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 19 November 2017.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest
2018 		Succeeded by
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