She continued to win over the hearts of the British public as she sailed through the public vote to reach the semi-final of the X Factor.

Christmas may be three weeks away, but a place in next week’s final is at stake for Saara Aalto. So to get into the festive spirit, she covered Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas is You”, followed by a performance of Sia’s “Chandelier”.

Her VT showed a visit to the Embassy of Finland, which included a visit from Santa himself who flown all the way from Lapland to visit Saara. Very festive!

Saara Aalto – “All I Want For Christmas is You”

Saara began the performance standing next to a merry-go-round-horse as she sang the introduction of “White Christmas”. As she stepped down and switched to Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas is You”, the staging got into the festive spirit with toy soldier dancers and backing drummers on present shaped stages. Saara delivered a joyous seasonal performance and nailed the high note at the end.

Judges Nicole Scherzinger and Simon Cowell continued the high praise for Saara despite finding the performance a little corny, but in a good way.

“I love the medley you did at the beginning, the intro is beautiful,” said Nicole. “Beautiful vocal control, you remind me of Kate Bush. You sang the best Christmas song ever and you did your thing on it. What’s so great about you is that you put a smile on my face and my heart.”

“Not only did you have a great voice, you have one of the best personalities for a long time,” said Simon. “Whatever you do, you do it with a sense of fun. It’s also your competitive spirit that I like, and you’ve done a massive turnaround from the first live show to now.”

Louis kept things relatively straightforward. “I think you are incredible. You’re a world class artist, because every week you bring something different and you never let us down.” He even managed to say “Everybody vote for Saara” in Finnish!

Saara Aalto – “Chandelier”

Saara’s second performance took us back to where it all started, as she performed her audition song, Sia’s “Chandelier”. Looking glamourous in her fairy light dress, Saara delivered the performance of her life with the thunderclouds backdrop adding that atmospheric emotion to her performance.

Saara’s audition performance had made Nicole want to “clap her ass” for her, and after the reprise performance Nicole began to regret selecting Saara as Sharon’s wildcard act. “You’re unbelivable. I have so much respect for you, your talent is in the stratosphere and I love a fighter.”

Tonight’s performance left Simon Cowell gobsmacked. “Oh bleep. I have to hand it to you Saara. Apart from the sily dress, it was absolutely sensational. I admire people who fight. I thought the arrangement was stunning, I have to hand it to you Sharon, you have given this girl confidence.”

“Saara, it’s very simple, you deserve to be in the final,” said Louis. “That was an amazing performance. I loved everything about you and everybody, vote for Saara.”

Sharon was left speechless and as she was overcome with emotion, the audience behind the judges chanted Saara’s name.

Saara Aalto has overtaken series favourite Matt Terry and is now the odds-on favourite to win The X Factor UK.

@saaraaalto is now the favourite to win #xfactor. #saaraaalto #xfactor2016

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Vote for Saara Aalto

If you are in the UK, you can either vote by phone, mobile or on the X Factor app. Voting will close on Sunday during the live results show.

The bottom two acts will compete in a sing-off, with the judges choosing which act will stay and who will go. If the judges are tied in their decision, this weekend’s public vote between the two acts will decide the result.

If you’re calling from a landline or mobile, Saara is #4. You can dial:

Landline: 090 20 50 51 04

Mobile: 6 50 51 04

So, what did you think of Saara Aalto on X Factor’s Christmas week? Can she win the show next week? Let us know in the comments below!

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Purple Mask
Purple Mask
7 years ago

Saara just got voted through to the Grand Final. Well done Saara!! 🙂

(J)ESC Fanatic
(J)ESC Fanatic
7 years ago

OMG, I really hope she wins! Slay, girl, slay! <3
Fingers crossed!

Marcus (day one)
Marcus (day one)
7 years ago

I’ve loved all of Saara’s performances but this was her best week on the X factor.

I really hope she wins.

Darcy
7 years ago

She is such a versatile singer, can deliver a powerful ballad and a fun up-tempo song to the maximum on the same night, whereas the other three acts (maybe minus 5AM) more or less sing similar material week on week.

So it’s simple…VOTE SAARA!

steve
steve
7 years ago

I think she will win- she has been my favourite since week 1 of the live shows. My prediction, a bit like Sam Bailey though, will be a hit single/ album then dropped by record label. However, I can see her perhaps representing the UK in Eurovision in a couple of years time. (at least should get 12 points from Finland!)

Steve
7 years ago

Chandelier is one of my favourite songs and I have to say she “nailed it” don’t you think?

ESCFan
ESCFan
7 years ago

I really hope she wins. I’ve never been this interested in X Factor!! Saara for the win !

beccaboo1212
7 years ago

When Saara performed the multilingual version of “Let It Go”, there were a few Japanese lines in there. I was wondering if she would be able to “impress the Far East” by singing a cover of any EXILE songs, like “Someday”, “I Wish For You”, “Each Other’s Way”, “All Night Long”, “New Horizon”, or maybe their 2011 smash hit “Rising Sun”, or their recent song “Joy-ride (Kankino Drive)”.

Jonas
Jonas
7 years ago

I’m very pleased she’s come this far, and I do hope she wins. Actually being successful after the show finishes is the real hurdle, though – win or lose, she deserves a lasting career. Well done, Saara.

Chicken Kyiv?
Chicken Kyiv?
7 years ago

She has come so far, like it’s cliche but she has. Eliminated at six chair challenge, came back as a wildcard, Bottom 2 First week and 2nd week, then again in Week 5, now she’s in the Semi Final and favourite to win the whole thing.

She’s not only shown her talent but she’s opened up to us, in the first 2 weeks she came across so cold, now we see the real her, the warm friendly quirky person she truly is and we love it <3

Polegend Godgarina
Polegend Godgarina
7 years ago

Circle of Light? More like, circle of prayers for Saara. Come on girl!!! <3

Ovidiu
Ovidiu
7 years ago

She was the only one who got a standing ovation on both of her performances and may I say, apart from 5AM, she’s the only one who can blow up the Wembley Arena. Yes, she’s got experience and she faced a lot of obstacles, but Saara has managed to be in the semi-final and actually be the favourite to win. She must be the winner and Syco must do the best for her because she deserves it! #SaaraFTW

mad-professor
mad-professor
7 years ago

It’s hard. I *want* her to win (or come second so she can actually have a career), but I also hope she doesn’t so she can represent the UK at Eurovision…

Stephanie
7 years ago

It can be done! In Australia, Samantha Jade was in the bottom three times and came back to win in 2012. Even Dami Im, who slayed at Eurovision this year, was eliminated in 2013 before judges’ houses and was asked to come back after a contestant dropped out!

I just hope people are voting for Saara because after two incredible performances today, she deserves to be in that final! They’d be crazy not to do so

Mark W
Mark W
7 years ago

Got to be honest the only reason I’m watching X Factor is because Saara is on it. Every week I get nervous for her as a genuinely want her to succeed. GO SAARA!!!

Aleksi
Aleksi
7 years ago

I think she can actually win… speechless.