She oozes beauty and grace, and knows how to strut across any European stage.

And on Sunday Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2018 star Saara Aalto proved the point yet again when she performed her electronic pop banger “Monsters” during the interval of Lithuania’s National Selection – Eurovizijos atranka 2018.

Tension has grown steadily in Lithuania as Eurovision’s longest national selection finally concluded after two months of elimination rounds. Luckily Saara was there to ease that tension while performing her Eurovision entry on the Lithuanian stage.

While the essence of Saara’s stage show remained the same, there were some big changes in the performance – and we are living for it.

In the clip, which you can watch above, Saara rocks a red and black outfit while surrounded by dozens of candles which swarm the front of the stage. The backdrop sees static red LED graphics along with beaming white lights, creating an eerie atmosphere. Like her stage show at UMK, Saara is joined by three male dancers dressed in black who interact with Saara, showing a darker side to the performance. The female backing vocalists are absent. They are replaced by two female dancers who join Saara during the second verse. The choreo game is on point — and Saara was as present as ever.

Hardcore Saara Aalto fans will be happy to see “Monsters” filling up another European stage well, giving many hope that the song will blow the roof off the Altice Arena in May.

The most notable aspect of Saara’s interval performance is that it coincided with Lithuania’s Restoration of Independence Day, which marks the country’s independence from the Soviet Union. Saara paid homage to the celebrations by singing the entire second verse of “Monsters” in Lithuanian. The competent polyglot was not phased, adding even more class to the performance. RESPECT — Saara knows how to build bridges!

What did you think of Saara Aalto’s performance during Eurovizijos atranka? Does it live up to the studio version? And can Saara go all the way for Finland in Lisbon this May? Let us know your opinions in the comments section below.

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Liz Bean
6 years ago

This reminds me of that one time at band camp….

happy wheels 247
6 years ago

I like Saara!

Aled
Aled
6 years ago

Can someone tell her that there isn’t any point in her singing in different languages. Otherwise.. the whole this will sound disjointed, amature and desperate for votes.

Esc
Esc
6 years ago

I dont think that the sadomasochist image fits with her style. She needs to find her own essence.. i dont see finland in the final

Giedre
Giedre
6 years ago

Comparing to another ESC artist we had then, Ari from Iceland, she was obviously great, both for her charisma and her voice.
However, the song is pretty obvious and nothing really outstanding.
Still, I wish her all the best.

Yossarian
Yossarian
6 years ago

So, the problem of the children’s choir and backing vocalists hasn’t been solved yet. They’re still prerecorded here, aren’t they?

Milla
Milla
6 years ago

Can’t become more generic.. Never understood the love for this song.

Miller
Miller
6 years ago
Reply to  Milla

Excuse me?!?!?!?!?!?!? i find your comment really generic.

Jo
Jo
6 years ago

This may flop pretty bad if they doesn’t nail it on the stage.

Ari
Ari
6 years ago

Still not impressed. Although the Lithuanian part was a nice homage to the host country.

Angie
Angie
6 years ago

Still terrible but she will go to the final because of her fame. Bottom 5 for me.

Vlad
Vlad
6 years ago
Reply to  Angie

Fame is not necessarily the most important criterion for winning Eurovision. Ex: Cascada (Germany 2013).

Angie
Angie
6 years ago
Reply to  Vlad

I did not talk about winning, i said she’d qualify for the final.

macro
macro
6 years ago

She’s INCREDIBLE! And those vocals sound so good here, got goosebumps at some parts. Also respect for singing in Lithuanian, hard to imagine any other artists doing that.

Still not quite the staging she and the song deserves, but a massive step into the right direction.

Briekimchi
Briekimchi
6 years ago

I saw the performance and I have to say, it was much better than UMK. She looked a lot more comfortable, the staging was a bit more focused and her vocals were better. Having said all of that, it is still not as good as her performance of “Domino” was.

Lilja
Lilja
6 years ago

Ari from Iceland also performed his song, but I guess nobody cares about that.

Kris
Kris
6 years ago
Reply to  Lilja

It’s mentioned in the article on him

Lilja
Lilja
6 years ago
Reply to  Kris

Yeah but they didn’t even show his perfotmance or anything.

Sabrina
Sabrina
6 years ago

I’ve never been a fan of this song and now I feel that Israel set a different bar for dancing pop tunes on this Eurovision. I don’t even know yet how much I like Netta’s song, but after listening to it, “Monsters” seems even more like Finland is playing too safe. Saara’s vocals were very good on this performance, though. She has a lot of stage presence, but it would be wise to not give her an intense choreography like they did on UMK. Let her voice shine like on this one, the juries will appreciate it more than a… Read more »

Amor
Amor
6 years ago

Good job Saara! She really stepped up this performance, so much better than the national final. The costumes, the dancers and the singing, everything is better! I also liked how she sang the verse in Lithuanian, such a sweet gesture.

dabamba
dabamba
6 years ago

She’s good performer and singer. I liked more this Lithuania version but pretty sure that things will look quite different on the ESC stage, hopefully good way. I’m expecting something more eye-shaking.

Kobe
Kobe
6 years ago

Ofcourse does this performance sound better with the pre-recorded backing vocals. Still don’t get the fuss about this song. I don’t like her screaming vocals either..

eric
eric
6 years ago

One reason why this performance was much better than the one in UMK is the backing vocals. In UMK they were live (and bad) while they weren’t live here. For Lisbon they need good backing singers. The question remains whether these backing singers will be good dancers as well…

All Wei
All Wei
6 years ago

OMG>< I see Black Birds……………………………..

dom
dom
6 years ago

Wow looks amazing on that stage

Martin
Martin
6 years ago

Wow this staging is a definite step up! And way to go with the Lithauanian second verse! What a class act, you can hear the crowd roar in support! I am confident this will pay off for her in terms of Lithuanian votes in May.

If they kept this staging for Lisbon, I’d be good. Only have to figure out how to make the female dancers sing I guess.

Jenny
Jenny
6 years ago

I’m SO glad they changed the show. Hopefully they keep this arrangement over the one at UMK. If they do, it might have a shot to qualify. Last year was a complete ripoff, I felt sorry for Finland, their excellent ballad got caught in the middle of mediocre ones and was forgotten.

Lourdes
Lourdes
6 years ago

I’m not a huge fan of the song, but her performance was really on point here! I also think she deserves to qualify from Semi 1, and compared to the other upbeat songs, this one and Israel are the strongest ones.

Henry
Henry
6 years ago

Well, i have to say that she’s a very good Live performer, will go easily to the final.

Kuna
Kuna
6 years ago

When she was singing the last verse in Lithuanian it kinda sounded like Miranda
Or is it just me ?

Joe
Joe
6 years ago

Not a winner, but it’s got a solid shot at the final. Hype, name recognition, a solid song and show – all good things.

Nothing against Saara, but...
Nothing against Saara, but...
6 years ago

You know, Ari from Iceland was there too, but not a word about him… It’s fine that wiwibloggs is a massive fan of Saara Salto, but at this point it really is becoming consistent special treatment.

Joe
Joe
6 years ago

Well, y’see, Ari’s song kinda blows, and Saara’s doesn’t.

Saara fan
Saara fan
6 years ago

No point saying “nothing against Saara” when you go and offend her after and the website.
Take your opinion elsewhere

Alex M
Alex M
6 years ago

Can I BE any less interested in this woman?

EEE
EEE
6 years ago
Reply to  Alex M

Considering you intentionally clicked on an article about her……Yes you could be less interested

Álex
Álex
6 years ago
Reply to  EEE

HAHA!

Timo1962FI
Timo1962FI
6 years ago
Reply to  Alex M

A bit interested must you be because you clicked on the headline and bothered to comment it. Saara has an enorm fanbase and you who just whine for it are a tiny minority.

Penguin
Penguin
6 years ago
Reply to  Timo1962FI

‘tiny minority’
I wouldn’t say that.

Weißbrot
Weißbrot
6 years ago
Reply to  Timo1962FI

”tiny minority” Yeah, sure lol.

esc freak
esc freak
6 years ago
Reply to  Alex M

In case you were trying to serve some Chandler Bing realness there, it should be “Could I BE any less interested in this woman?”.

Alex M
Alex M
6 years ago
Reply to  esc freak

My bad. Thanks.