Saara Aalto has announced today that she will be hosting her own home concert to celebrate her birthday on 1st May. “Queens Live!” will be hosted by Finland’s 2018 Eurovision act. The concert will take place at 20:00 CEST (21:00 Finnish time).
Saara will host the contest, which she has called the “most glamorous home concert”, the day before her birthday. It will be streamed lived on Saara’s official Facebook account.
Bringing the queens together!
The X Factor UK star announced the free concert on social media today, telling her fans to get ready for birthday celebrations with “sparkle” and “outfit changes”.
She is not the first Eurovision singer to host an online concert, amid the coronavirus pandemic. At the end of March, VICTORIA (Bulgaria 2021) and SuRie (United Kingdom 2018) both held concerts for their fans online. Pre-PartyES, the Spanish Eurovision pre-party, was also held online for the first time on 11th April.
While Saara has not yet confirmed a setlist for the online event, she has stated that she will be “singing songs from [her] favourite QUEENS in the music industry”.
Saara Aalto at the Eurovision Song Contest
Oulunsalo-born singer, Saara Aalto, is no stranger to Eurovision. She first found fame in 2007 when she finished in the top three of Finnish talent show, Talent Suomi.
In 2011, Saara took part in Finland’s Eurovision national final, Euroviisut, with the song “Blessed with Love”. She finished in second place with 40.7% of the final vote, only 6% behind eventual winner Paradise Oskar. She attempted to represent the country again at the contest in 2016, where she sang “No Fear” at Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu. Again, she placed second behind Sandhja.
In 2016, Saara auditioned for the UK version of The X Factor where she made it all the way to the final, despite being knocked out initially in the six-chair challenge. She was reinstalled as a wildcard ahead of the judge’s house and eventually finished in second place, with 40.4% of the vote.
Following her appearance on The X Factor UK, Saara was internally selected by Finnish broadcaster Yle to represent Finland at Eurovision 2018 in Lisbon. She performed three songs at the national final, with “Monsters” being voted as the winner. At Eurovision, Saara made the final and finished in 25th place with 46 points. It was Finland’s best result at the contest since 2014.
Will you be watching Saara’s home concert on 1st May? What songs do you hope she sings?
Let us know in the comments below and on social media @ESCXTRA.
Amazing news! Unpopular opinion: She should have sung \”Queens\” at Eurovision 😀