Saara Aalto: ‘I’ll get married at Eurovision’
But she has to make it to the final first
Y‘I’m doing something that has never been done before’
ou’ll remember her wacky performances and outlandish outfits, but it was Saara Aalto’s powerful voice that got her all the way to the finals in 2016’s The X Factor. Now she’s back, vying for the crown at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest and, frankly, we’re gutted she’s not representing us.
Taking on the challenge for Finland with Monsters, Saara tells heat she’s, “Excited and exhausted. This is an emotional roller-coaster ride.” The 30-year-old Finnish native has twice previously competed to represent her country, coming second both times.
But this year, Saara finally gets to be the bride instead of the bridesmaid, and she couldn’t be happier. “Seeing Eurovision, everyone is colourful, bubbly, happy, loving and accepting. I’ve always loved that world. It’s so dark in Finland and then you watch Eurovision and you’re like, ‘I want to be there!’” Thirty-seven countries participate in the semi-finals next week, with just 20 securing a place in the final on Saturday 12 May (the UK, represented by Surie with her track Storm, have automatically qualified). So, of course, Saara’s a tad nervous.
She says, “Finland never gets to the final, so it wouldn’t be a new thing. But I do feel some pressure, as people seem to love the song. I would be disappointed, I can’t deny it. But I will make some kind of Eurovision history [with her staging], as I’m doing something that has never been done before.”
Saara wowed UK audiences with her dramatic performances on The X Factor, and she’s planning on going even bigger, camper and glitzier, in true Eurovision-style. “I am going to do the biggest show possible,” she says. “Brian Friedman is the creative director – he did all my X Factor performances. What he originally planned was so big that the Eurovision people said it wasn’t possible – they couldn’t get the set-piece on and off stage. But it will still be spectacular.”
Saara will be supported by wife-to-be Meri Sopanen. The couple were engaged in 2016, but haven’t gotten around to a wedding yet. “We are very spontaneous –maybe if I win Eurovision, we’ll get married the next day. I could have a veil in the green room, and if I win, we’ll get married right there.” n