Saara Aalto
Saara Aalto | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Saara Sofia Aalto |
Born | Oulunsalo, Finland | 2 May 1987
Genres | Pop |
Occupation(s) |
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Instrument(s) |
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Years active | 1998–present |
Labels |
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Website | www |
Saara Sofia Aalto (born 2 May 1987)
In 2016, Aalto finished as the runner-up in the
In 2018, she represented Finland in the
Early life
Born in
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
Her second bid to represent Finland was for
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
2012: The Voice of Finland
Aalto participated in
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
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 "
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.
The X Factor performances and results | |||
---|---|---|---|
Show | Song choice | Theme | Result |
Auditions | "Chandelier" | — | Through to bootcamp |
Bootcamp | "On the Radio" | Through to six-chair challenge | |
Six-chair challenge | "I See Fire" | Eliminated; re-instated as a wildcard | |
"Je suis malade" | |||
Judges' houses | "The Winner Takes It All" | Through to live shows | |
Live show 1 | " Let It Go "
|
Express Yourself | Bottom three (9th) |
"Alive" | Sing-Off | Saved (Majority vote) | |
Live show 2 | "River Deep – Mountain High" | Motown | Bottom three (9th) |
"Run" | Sing-Off | Saved (Deadlock) | |
Live show 3 | "It's Oh So Quiet" | Divas & Legends | Safe (2nd) |
Live show 4 | "Bad Romance" | Fright Night | Safe (3rd) |
Live show 5 | "Sound of the Underground" | Girlband vs. Boyband | Bottom three (6th) |
"Who You Are" | Sing-Off | Saved (Majority vote) | |
Live show 6 | "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)" | Disco | Safe (2nd) |
Live show 7 | "My Heart Will Go On" from Titanic | Movies | Safe (2nd) |
Quarter-Final | "The Winner Takes It All" | Louis Loves | Safe (1st) |
"Diamonds Are Forever" / "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" | Contestant's choice | ||
Semi-Final | "White Christmas" / "All I Want for Christmas Is You" | Christmas | Safe (1st) |
"Chandelier" | Contestant's choice | ||
Final (Saturday) | "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" | New song | Safe (1st) |
"Bohemian Rhapsody" (with Adam Lambert) | Celebrity duet | ||
Final (Sunday) | "It's Oh So Quiet" | Song of the series | Runner-up (40.4%) |
"I Didn't Know My Own Strength" | New Song |
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
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 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 two-year 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
Title | Details | Peak chart positions | |||||||||||||||||
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FIN
[46] | |||||||||||||||||||
Blessed with Love |
|
— | |||||||||||||||||
Enkeleitä – Angels |
|
— | |||||||||||||||||
You Had My Heart |
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43 | |||||||||||||||||
Ai De Zhu Fu |
|
— | |||||||||||||||||
Tonight (with Teemu Roivainen) |
|
— | |||||||||||||||||
Wild Wild Wonderland |
|
2 | |||||||||||||||||
Fairytale – Joulun taikaa |
|
10 | |||||||||||||||||
"—" denotes an album that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Extended plays
Title | Details |
---|---|
Fairytale – International |
|
Singles
As lead artist
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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] | 2018 | 13 | 6 | 19 | 7 | |||||||||||||||
"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. |
As featured artist
Title | Year | Album |
---|---|---|
"Sydämesi tyhjä huone" (Teemu Roivainen featuring Saara Aalto) |
2015 | Sydämesi tyhjä huone |
Promotional singles
Title | Year | Album |
---|---|---|
"My Love" ( The Voice Performance)
|
2012 | Non-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
Title | Year | Other Artists | Album |
---|---|---|---|
"Art of Forgiveness"[52] | 2015 | Jonna | Sound Mind |
"All I Ask of You"[e] | Waltteri Torikka | Sydän |
Dubbing
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2008 | The Tale of Despereaux | Princess Pea | Finnish 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
|
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2011–present | Bubble Guppies | Molly | Finnish version |
2011–2014 | Pokémon |
Iris | |
2012–present | Winx Club | Musa | |
2015 | Hey Duggee | Norrie | |
2015 | Rocka-Bye Island | Lee | |
2016 | K3 | Kylie |
Awards and achievements
Year | Award | Category | Results | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2016 | Iltalehti | Finnish Person of the Year | Won | [53] |
2017 | Vuoden Positiivisin Suomalainen | The Most Positive Person in Finland | Won | [54] |
References
Notes
- ^ Selection process for Finnish entry to Eurovision Song Contest 2011
- ^ Selection process for Finnish entry to Eurovision Song Contest 2016
- ^ a b c Selection process for Finnish entry to Eurovision Song Contest 2018
- ^ To commemorate Chinese New Year 2014 (Year of the Horse) (song in English and Mandarin)
- ^ The Phantom of the Opera
Sources
- ^ Saukkola, Mirva (2018). "Saara Aalto hoitaa kauneuttaan myös ruokavaliolla: "Vältän vehnää ja sokeria"" (in Finnish). Anna.fi.
- ^ Juha Sutela (14 October 2002). "Unohtumaton ilta Olgan kunniaksi". kaleva.fi. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
- ^ Kimmo Pihlajamaa, Yrjö Mikkonen and Sari Hourula. "Oulun musiikkielämän grand old lady". kaleva.fi. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
- ^ Saara Aalto (8 March 2016). "I wanted to learn to sing like Charlotte Church". facebook. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Bio | Saara Aalto". Archived from the original on 3 October 2013. Retrieved 3 October 2013.
- ^ "Saara Aalto konsertoi Helsingissä » Umami". Umami.fi. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
- ^ a b "Finnish Pop Star Saara Aalto To Perform At The Award & Closing Ceremony For The Shanghai International Film Festival". top40-charts.com. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
- ^ "Saara Aalto pestattu Maria Magdalenaksi Lahteen". hs.fi. 1 June 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
- ^ "Kuvat: Muistatko vielä? Näin Saara Aalto nousi julkisuuteen". mtv.fi. 11 December 2016. Archived from the original on 28 December 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
- ^ "Finland sends Paradise Oskar to Düsseldorf!". Retrieved 6 February 2017.
- ^ "Ensimmäiset UMK-finalistit valittu – onko joku heistä Suomen euroviisuedustaja?". Yle. 6 February 2016. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
- ^ "UMK 2016: FINLAND REVEALS FULL RESULTS OF TELEVOTE AND JURIES". wiwibloggs.com. 2 March 2016. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Chinese listeners to vote for best Finnish SANTA CLAUS SEASON'S GREETINGS SONG 2012". Finland.cn. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
- ^ "Negative voitti joululaulukilpailun". Suomen suurlähetystö, Peking -Suomen pääkonsulaatti, Shanghai (in Finnish). Finland.cn. 29 December 2011.
- ^ "Rhapsody in Rock: Startsidan". Retrieved 3 March 2017.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Saara Aalto: 'What if you would sing in China?'". dreamdo. 1 January 2012. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
- ^ Heini Kangasluoma (23 June 2013). "Saara Aalto Kiinassa: Rankan alun jälkeen maailmantähtien eteen". mtv.fi. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
- ^ "Voice of Finland: Riitaa laulajista! | Viihde". Iltalehti.fi. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
- ^ Rahn, Florian (29 August 2016). ""That's How You Do It!" Finland's Saara Aalto Nails X Factor UK Audition". wiwibloggs.com. Wiwibloggs.
- ^ "Voting stats 2016 revealed". ITV. 11 December 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
- ^ "Saara Aalto kertoi tulevaisuuden suunnitelmistaan lehdistötilaisuudessa". mtv.fi. 20 December 2016. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
- Hearst Corporation. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
- Hearst Corporation. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Weaver, Jessica (10 January 2018). "Finland: UMK18 songs to be released next month; first song on 9 February". ESCtoday.com. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
- ^ "Saara Aalto to release Wild Wild Wonderland on April 27th". Escxtra. 28 March 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
- ^ eurovisiontj (10 March 2019). "Saara Aalto places 3rd on Dancing on Ice". ESCXTRA.com. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
- ^ "Saara Aalto's 'Dance Like Nobody's Watching' is official song for Pride in London 2019".
- ^ "Saara Aalto's Dance Like Nobody's Watching is the official song for Pride in London 2019". 4 June 2019.
- ^ "SAARA AALTO : We Will Rock You -musikaali" (in Finnish). Retrieved 6 January 2022.
- ^ "Me Naiset: Saara Aalto erosi miehestään 9 yhteisen vuoden jälkeen". Ilta-Sanomat. 2 May 2013.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
- ^ Adams, William Lee (4 October 2016). "X FACTOR REVEALS SAARA AALTO'S FEAR OF NEEDLES…AS HEAT MAGAZINE REPORTS ON HER ENGAGEMENT". Wiwibloggs.
- ^ Douglas, Nicole (22 November 2016). "X Factor's Saara Aalto exclusively reveals the moment her girlfriend proposed: 'For me, it was a surprise!'". OK!.
- ^ "Moving to London". Saara Aalto. 26 January 2017. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
- ^ "Saara Aalto on Twitter". twitter.com. 29 April 2020. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
- ^ "Saara Aalto repäisi Merin kanssa – uusi koti etelän auringossa: "Meillä on vain menolippu"". www.iltalehti.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 6 January 2022.
- ^ Poutanen, Nina (25 June 2023). "Saara And Meri Aalto Finally Got Their Wedding Celebration In Italy". ESCBubble. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
- ^ a b c Peak chart positions in Finland:
- For all except noted: "Discography Saara Aalto". Finnish Charts Portal. Hung Medien.
- For Airplay Chart: "Musiikkituottajat - Tilastot - Suomen virallinen lista - Artistit › Saara Aalto". Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
- For "Monsters": "Suomen virallinen lista - Singlet 20/2018". Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
- ^ Peak chart positions for songs in Iceland:
- For "Monsters": "TOPPLISTINN 26. MAI 2018". RÚV. Archived from the original on 26 May 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
- ^ Peak chart positions for songs in Sweden Heatseeker Chart:
- For "Monsters": "Veckolista Heatseeker – Vecka 20, 18 maj 2018". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
- ^ "SONG: Saara Aalto – 'DANCE!!!'". Scandipop.co.uk. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
- ^ @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.
- ^ "Let It Go - Single by Saara Aalto". Apple Music. 18 January 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
- ^ "Art of Forgiveness (feat. Saara Aalto) by Jonna". Apple Music. 21 August 2015. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
- ^ Miia Vatka (31 December 2016). "Iltalehden lukijat valitsivat: Saara Aalto on vuoden suomalainen!". Iltalehti. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
- ^ "Saara Aalto on Vuoden Positiivisin Suomalainen 2017 – Vuoden Positiivisin Suomalainen". vps.positiivarit.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 19 November 2017.
External links
- Saara Aalto at IMDb
- Saara Aalto on Twitter
- Official website