No Fear! Saara Aalto To Judge On X Factor Suomi
Just six months after finishing an impressive second on X Factor UK, Finland sweetheart Saara Aalto has announced she will be one of four judges on the upcoming series of X Factor Suomi, this will be the first time the X Factor format will be seen in Finland in seven years, after their first and only series to date, debuted back in 2010.
Saara, who has tried to represent Finland in Eurovision on two occasions, most recently in 2016 with her song "No Fear" where she narrowly lost out to Sandjha's "Sing It Away" will join Michael Monroe, Suvi Teräsniska and Mikael Gabriel.
Many have been hoping and wishing Saara would return to try and represent Finland since 2016 and re-enter the Finland UMK (Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu) but this commitment could help or hinder those wishes and desires. On the one hand, it's Saara back in Finland, having moved to London in the start of 2017, and back in Finnish TV, given herself a fanbase boost and public knowledge and awareness to jump into UMK. however with auditions due to start in September and the main show, including the live shows to take place during Spring 2018, it seems Saara will be rather focused on X Factor to dedicate time to UMK and/or Eurovision. That being said, Saara has said in interviews and on social media in the past she would try and compete for a spot at Eurovision again in the future.
Finland have already confirmed they will be returning to Eurovision in 2018, and sing the UMK to select their act. In 2017, they were represented by Norma John and the song "Blackbird" who were shock non-qualifiers from the first semi final, only placing 12th on the night.
