Having to perform twice in one night was no issue for Saara Aalto. On Saturday, during X Factor’s “Louis Loves” Week, the Finnish singer earned a standing ovation from the judges and the audience for her stirring rendition of ABBA’s “The Winner Takes It All”. After that, she closed the show out with a bejewelled mash-up of “Diamonds Are Forever” and “Diamonds Are a Girls Best Friend”.
Now — after being in the bottom two three times early in the series — Saara is proving to be the real diamond in the rough.
She sailed through to the semi-finals of the competition during Sunday’s results show. Not only that, but she has now topped the result of another foreign favourite — Spain’s Ruth Lorenzo — who went out at this stage in 2008.
Saara celebrated in her signature style, jumping up and down, shrieking and hugging Sharon Osborne — while pulling those faces. Her enthusiasm is infectious.
Yay! @saaraaalto is the first act through to the #xfactor semi-final! Congratulations! ?????????????????? pic.twitter.com/oJpwnMJWUX
— wiwibloggs (@wiwibloggs) November 27, 2016
The show on Saturday was perfect to show off the two sides of Saara — serious and emotive on the one hand, and flashy and fun on the other.
Last week saw her stun with a stripped-back version of “My Heart Will Go On”. This week’s performance of “The Winner Takes It All” felt very similar, albeit with Saara at piano. In a tweet, Saara said this is the “most natural way for me to perform”. We have no doubts about that after this performance:
Her mash-up later in the evening was much heavier on staging, reminiscent of some of her earlier performances in the contest. Together, they showed how she could be the show’s complete package.
Not so lucky were 5 After Midnight and Honey G, who found themselves in the sing-off. In the end, it was the North Weezy rapper whose time had run out. Whilst Sharon opted to save her own act, the three other judges all opted to send her home.
Next week will see the remaining four acts — Saara, Matt, Emily and 5AM — tackle Christmas songs…in the first week of December. It’s the last step before the final: Do you think Saara Aalto can she make it? Can the snow fairy from Finland slay the holiday tunes? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
Regarding some comments, that saara only ever finishes second in all competitions, and therefore she will also be 2nd in the UK X Factor, well it really doesn’t Matter her mission is complete, she is going to be a global star, and its the UK that’s provided the platform in assisting the world rise to global fame. everything is now going to be who she can fit in to her busy lifestyle, she is now going to become hot property…This Lady is Multi talented, with a great personality , and fame wont change her personality its believed by those close… Read more »
Definitely, Saara is the best singer and performer. She should win, but we´ll see what will happen…
For me, 5 After Midnight are the only marketable act on XF this year. Nothing really stands out in the other acts. Win or lose, 5 AM will have the most successful career from this. Matt is annoying, Emily only sings songs that would sound great on a John Lewis Christmas ad, while Saara, while good, is too busy getting lost in props. She’s more suited to West End and Broadway productions rather than the music charts, which is still good. Honey G is gone though and that’s the main thing. Although, she should never have been there anyway. Seriously… Read more »
She’s gonna get the same fate as Andrea Faustini suffered last year … an outsider trying to make it in the UK … yet he’s far more believable both as a singer and as a interpreter of songs while she is just a technically good singer unable to convey emotion but able to put on a character as if she’s in a musical.
Matt has the looks and his falsetto is amazing. He can hypnotize you with his eyes, or put a spell on you.
Emily is really sweet and her performances are sensitive and touching, but she has also the happy side.
5AM are having fun on stage, they can dance and move like Jagger.
Saara’s voice is phenomenal. She is charismatic and doown-to-earth. She can perform touching powerballads and quirky songs.
It’s going to be a tough game. I think Emily or 5AM will be out of the final.
a great top 4. rooting for my umk siren but would be totally down with matt, emily or 5AM winning. interesting that all 4 judges still have an act each for the semi-finals.
If the terrible Eurorapper is gone, then all is right with the world.
Guys, let’s not get too excited. She’s just gonna be the runner up, like she is in every televised singing competition she does.
Now Honey G is out :'( I’m fully behind Saara 100 percent! Didn’t like her the first 2 weeks, but she has been fantastic ever since!
She’s amazing. Her rendition of that ABBA song gave me goosebumps all over my body. She is really a true talent and she deserves all the success in the world.
The difference of support on Twitter is absolutely massive now compared to the beginning of the series, so much support for her! And I feel she has a much wider fanbase than the other acts, crossing all age groups and genders – that’s what happens when you’re super talented! I can totally see her in the final and maybe winning…maybe…
Im glad to see even the guest artists supporting her now 🙂 Saara is one of the absolute best vocalists and performers 🙂 Glad for Emily that she got through as well as she really took a chance this week With her songs. As for 5AM – I suspect the fans “forgot” to vote for them as they expected they would be safe anyways. Very surprised to see them in bottom 2. What an amazing top 4 there is now 🙂 Im just so happy that Saara beat Honey G , would have been a disaster if Honey G had… Read more »
I really don’t want her to finish second but I’m kinda thinking she will.
2 reasons to be happy: Saara save, Honey G out
If she finishes in 2nd place, it’ be tragihilarious.
She’s really the only one that can actually sing so if she doesn’t win there’s something wrong here, right?
Saara has peaked at the right time, and is now second favorite with the bookies to win! So happy for her, and of course thrilled that Honey G is finally gone!
This is really pleasingly unexpected. She started slowly but she’s coming through. Britain is finally recognizing real talent!