Saara Aalto
| Saara Aalto | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Saara Sofia Aalto |
| Born |
2 May 1987 Oulunsalo, Finland |
| Genres | Pop |
| Occupation(s) |
|
| Instruments |
|
| Years active | 2004–present |
| Labels | Yume Records |
| Website |
www |
Saara Sofia Aalto (born 2 May 1987)[1] is a Finnish pop singer, songwriter, and voice actress. Aalto has been looking for a breakthrough and early in her career placed second in the first season in The Voice of Finland in 2012. Aalto has also competed in the Finnish national selection to represent Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest twice, in 2011 and 2016, placing second both times. Aalto is currently competing in the thirteenth series of the The X Factor UK. She is in the top three so far, mentored by Sharon Osbourne.
Life and career
Early life
Born in Oulunsalo, Finland, she has focused on music since her childhood. She wrote her first song at the age of five. Her close relatives include painter and documentary director Eeli Aalto and magician Simo Aalto. In 1998, at the age of 11, she won the Kotka Maritime Festival song contest for children with one of her own works. She 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 high school, she moved to Helsinki to study music education at Sibelius Academy. At the same time she also studied singing in the Helsinki Pop & Jazz Conservatory.[2]
Music career
In 2007, she participated in Talent Suomi, finishing in the top three.[3]
From 2008 to 2011 she appeared in the Helsinki City Theater musicals, first as Kelsi in High School Musical on Stage! and its second installment, and then in Wicked, as Dorothy,[4] making her the only person to portray the character in any production of the musical.
She participated in the qualifying rounds to represent Finland for Eurovision 2011, with "Blessed With Love", but placed second to Paradise Oskar. The recording was released by Yume Records, a self-release record label she had founded together with her boyfriend in 2011. In December 2011, Aalto was involved in Santa Claus Season's Greetings Song Contest, singing the Chinese version of "Blessed with Love" (Ai De Zhu Fu).[5]
She participated in season one of The Voice of Finland with the coach, Michael Monroe, placing second to Mikko Sipola.[6]
In 2016, Aalto competed in Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu with the song "No Fear" in a bid to represent Finland at Eurovision Song Contest 2016. She placed second again, losing to Sandhja.[7]
Currently, Aalto is competing on the thirteenth series of The X Factor UK, where she is being mentored by Sharon Osbourne.[8] After her semi final performances drew huge praise from the judges, bookies have installed her as the new favourite to win, overtaking previous favourite Matt Terry.[9]
| The X Factor performances and results | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Show | Song choice | Theme | Result |
| Auditions | "Chandelier" | N/A | Through to bootcamp |
| Bootcamp | "On the Radio" | Through to six-chair challenge | |
| Six-chair challenge | "I See Fire" / "Je suis malade" | Eliminated; re-instated as a wildcard | |
| Judges' houses | "The Winner Takes It All" | Through to live shows | |
| Live show 1 | "Let It Go" | Express Yourself | Bottom three |
| "Alive" | Sing-Off | Safe (Majority vote) | |
| Live show 2 | "River Deep – Mountain High" | Motown | Bottom three |
| "Run" | Sing-Off | Safe (Deadlock) | |
| Live show 3 | "It's Oh So Quiet" | Divas & Legends | Safe |
| Live show 4 | "Bad Romance" | Fright Night | Safe |
| Live show 5 | "Sound of the Underground" | Girlband vs. Boyband | Bottom three |
| "Who You Are" | Sing-Off | Safe (Majority vote) | |
| Live show 6 | "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)" | Disco | Safe |
| Live show 7 | "My Heart Will Go On" from Titanic | Movies | Safe |
| Live show 8 | "The Winner Takes It All" | Louis Loves | Safe |
| "Diamonds Are Forever" / "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" | Contestant's choice | ||
| Live show 9 | "White Christmas" / "All I Want for Christmas Is You" | Christmas | Safe |
| "Chandelier" | Contestant's choice | ||
Personal life
After nine years with a musician boyfriend Teemu Roivainen, the couple broke up in 2013.[10] They have continued performing and making music together. Later Aalto began a relationship with a female fan, named Meri Sopanen. They became engaged on their two-year anniversary in August 2016.[11][12]
Discography
Albums
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| FIN [13] | ||
| Blessed With Love |
|
— |
| Enkeleitä – Angels |
|
— |
| You Had My Heart |
|
43 |
| Ai De Zhu FU |
|
— |
| Tonight (with Teemu Roivainen) |
|
— |
Singles
As lead artist
| Year | Title | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | "Blessed with Love" | Blessed with Love |
| 2013 | "You Had My Heart" | You Had My Heart |
| "Enkeleitä" | N/A | |
| 2014 | "Reach the Stars" | |
| "You Raise Me Up" | ||
| 2015 | "Feel Vegas" (with Teemu Roivainen featuring Big Spender) | |
| 2016 | "No Fear" | |
As featured artist
| Year | Title | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | "Sydämesi tyhjä huone" (Teemu Roivainen featuring Saara Aalto) |
N/A |
Filmography
Films
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | The Tale of Despereaux | Princess Pea (voice) | Finnish dub |
| 2010 | Alice in Wonderland | Alice (voice) | Finnish dub |
| 2011 | From Up on Poppy Hill | Umi (voice) | Finnish dub |
| 2012 | Brave | singing voice | Finnish dub |
| 2012 | Rise of the Guardians | Tooth Fairy (voice) | Finnish dub |
| 2013 | Rölli ja kultainen avain | singer, "Minne Menee, Mistä Tulee" | |
| 2013 | Frozen | Anna (voice) | Finnish dub |
| 2015 | Frozen Fever | Anna (voice) | Finnish dub |
Television series
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011–present | Bubble Guppies | Molly (voice) | Finnish dub |
| 2011–2014 | Pokémon | Iris (voice) | Finnish dub |
| 2012–present | Winx Club | Musa (voice, since season 5) | Finnish dub |
| 2015 | Hey Duggee | Norrie (voice) | Finnish dub |
| 2015 | Rocka-Bye Island | Lee (voice) | Finnish dub |
| 2016 | K3 | Kylie (voice) | Finnish dub |
Reality television
| Year | Title | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Talent Suomi (series 1) | Third place |
| 2011 | Euroviisut 2011 | Runner-up |
| 2012 | The Voice of Finland (season 1) | Runner-up |
| 2016 | Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu | Runner-up |
| 2016 | The X Factor (UK, series 13) | Contestant |
References
- ↑ Nimimerkki. "Saara Aalto". Anna.fi. Retrieved 2013-09-04.
- ↑ http://www.saaraaalto.com/bio/
- ↑ "Saara Aalto konsertoi Helsingissä » Umami". Umami.fi. Retrieved 2013-09-04.
- ↑ "Audios - A Wicked and Phantom Trading Site". Wickedandphantomforlife.weebly.com. 2010-10-02. Retrieved 2013-09-04.
- ↑ "Negative voitti joululaulukilpailun - Suomen suurlähetystö, Peking -Suomen pääkonsulaatti, Shanghai : Ajankohtaista". Finland.cn. Retrieved 2013-09-04.
- ↑ "Voice of Finland: Riitaa laulajista! | Viihde". Iltalehti.fi. Retrieved 2013-09-04.
- ↑ "Ensimmäiset UMK-finalistit valittu – onko joku heistä Suomen euroviisuedustaja?". Yle. 2016-02-06. Retrieved 2016-02-07.
- ↑ Rahn, Florian (29 August 2016). ""That's How You Do It!" Finland's Saara Aalto Nails X Factor UK Audition". wiwibloggs.com. Wiwibloggs.
- ↑ Mohan, Isabel (4 December 2016). "The X Factor 2016 week 9: Underdog Saara Aalto now favourite to win after spectacular semi-final performances". telegraph.co.uk. The Telegraph.
- ↑ "Me Naiset: Saara Aalto erosi miehestään 9 yhteisen vuoden jälkeen". Ilta-Sanomat. 2 May 2013.
- ↑ 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!.
- ↑ "Discography Saara Aalto". Finnish Charts Portal. Hung Medien.