#saara aalto

[eurovision-song-bracket]

Songs from the 2010s

2013 - “L’essenziale” by Marco Mengoni (Italy)

2018 - “Monsters” by Saara Aalto (Finland)

[figureskatingcostumes]

Emmi Peltonen skating to Saara Aalto's cover of Je suis malade for her short program at the 2024 Europeans and 2023 Finlandia Trophy.

(Sources: 1 and 2)

[eurovision-facts]

Eurovision Fact #603:

Kaleen (Austria 2024) said she realized she wanted to get more serious about music when she realized how much fun she was having during the stand-in rehearsal for Saara Aalto's "Monsters" in 2018 (Finland).

[Source]

'Kaleen from Austria: "The whole three minutes will be a dance break",' Eurovisionworld.com.

[fitzrove]

Omg there's going to be a finnish dub of the new wicked movie??????? It already got lambasted by critics ("nobody wants that we should just get ariana grande") but. I desperately want to see that 😂 Wondering if they'll use the musical translation...

[ometochtli2rabbit]

MAYA:

13.0.12.11.8

ka'a [2] LAMAT| Q'ANIEL- wak[6] ZOTZ

galactic tone: duality / polarity

sun sign: STAR| rabbit/yellow or blue/south

ask for abundance in all relations

NAHUA:

ome [2] - TOCHTLI - it's my birthday!! on this calendar

Tlaltecuhtli | Mayahuel

quetzalhuitzilin [green hummingbird

lord of the night: Xiuhtecuhtli

trecena [2]: Tepeyollotl

x: macuilli [5] - Teotleco

"Request to Quarter: General Francis Channing Barlow visits the home of Arabella Freeman (feat. her brother Charles)", Hilary Harkness, 2019.

"Blind-man's Bluff", Cajsa Von Zeipel, 2014.

Today we will list songs that are recorded by LESBIAN singers/musicians:

Chappell Roan: Pink Pony Club

Courtney Barnett: Avant Gardener

Brandie Carlile: Right on Time

Tegan and Sara: Walking with a Ghost

Feloni: On A Mission

St. Vincent: DOA

girl in red: Too Much

Saara Aalto: Queens

Anika Moa: Youthful

Gracie Petrie: Black Tie

Emily Estefan: Purple Money

Snail Mail: Pristine

Hayley Kiyoko: Luna

Kany Garcia; Mi Plan de Vida

Lippy Lou: Freaks

Garrison Starr: Bones

King Princess: PAIN

Lady Sovereign: 9 to 5

Ladyhawke: Let it Roll

Patty Larkin: Best of Intentions

Torres: Forever Home

The XX: Dangerous

The Japanese House: Saw You in a Dream

Linda Perry: In My Dreams

Gretchen Phillips: Honey. I Feel So Good

Hazell Dean: Whatever I Do (Wherever I Go)

Melissa Ethridge: Come to My Window

KD Lang: Constant Craving

Lesley Gore: You Don't Own Me

Indigo Girls: Closer to Fine

Tracy Chapman: The Promise

Sia: Wild Ones

Sinead O' Connor: Nothing Compares 2 U

Wendy and Lisa: Honeymoon Express

Last Dinner Party: Nothing Matters

Janis Ian: At Seventeen

ran out of time...

[evelhak]

Thanks for the tag, @lylakoi. I enjoyed knowing things about you.

Here we go:

5 Songs:

Galadriel by New Better Spring Band, Dalai Lama by Emma Salokoski, HÄN by Saara Aalto, Girl Into Devil by S.J. Tucker, Dips by Daisy the Great. These came to mind first.

Three ships you like: KagaKuro (KnB), Willow/Tara (BTVS), Lorelai/Luke (Gilmore Girls). These three are the most actively on my mind right now.

First ship ever: I'm not sure what I count as shipping. I feel like being invested in a couple while watching/reading a story but never thinking about them outside of it doesn't quite make it. So, I think maybe Toya/Yukito (CCS) or Shiro/Saber (Fate/Stay Night).

Last song you heard: Some folk song my brother was playing on the piano but didn't know the name of.

Favorite Childhood Book: Siniliina books by Silja Frangén. (Blueline? Bluelyn? Not sure how to explain the main character's name in English.) It's a fairy tale novel trilogy about a fairy who travels from the fairy world to the material world as a coming-of-age ritual, in search of their calling, guided by a "locker" in their heart which is shaped like a human. During their journeys, the fairy touches many creatures' and people's lives, sometimes unseen, sometimes forming a truly symbiotic relationship with them, most notably a couple of humans, who the fairy grows with and both mutually shape each other's lives, help each other's self-discovery, leaving a lasting positive impact when their paths naturally diverge. Generally there's some big self-development or family problem the fairy helps the human through, by simply being there. There's some practical magic, sure, but most of it is simply about being a friend who walks by you. These books were read to me when I was five, and the fairy's relationship with a lemming and one of their humans was true soulmate level shit to me, I don't think I still have recovered from them, they were simultaneously so fulfilling and heartbreaking. I also loved how the fairy's calling, or "career" if you will isn't just one clear thing, yes, it's about helping others, but it takes new shape and grows with them all the time, and they aren't limited to being a sidekick, it's always as much about the fairy as it is about the ones they help. These books made me as a person, and they made me a writer. I can now see not all the messages in these books are as good as they could be (particularly how the fairies are essentially genderless but still the ones with male coded names have traditionally masculine jobs and ones with female coded names have traditionally feminine ones, plus some eh takes on alcoholism), but the core of the books is psychologically and metaphorically complex and layered and just full of love, hope, acceptance and bonds in a way that really touched me deeply as a kid and will always move me, and mean the world to me. Also look at the art. It influenced me a lot too.

5. Currently Reading: Psyche in a Dress by Francesca Lia Block

6. Currently Watching: Buffy The Vampire Slayer season 4 (Rewatch count unknown)

7. Currently Craving: To finish several writing and art projects.

No pressure, of course, but I will tag @lilypheria, @anonarat, @misfitmiska, @ni-kol-koru and @myndless88 .

[holyprincenerd]

hey, do you have any recommendations of queer/queer-adjacent finnish music? if not, it's okay, no pressure

Hey anon, sorry for the late reply! 💕

Let me preface this by saying that since the Finnish language doesn’t have gendered personal pronouns, a lot of songs are open for interpretation when it comes to gender and sexuality! So, I opted to go for some songs that are very clearly queer coded, and also to give you a few examples Finnish artists who are part of the LGBTQ community!

Again, for any finns who may be reading this, please feel free to add onto the list!

Here’s the tldr version with links to the songs:

Ihmisten edessä by Jenni Vartiainen (YouTube Link) (Spotify Link)

(Mentioned in relation: Jenny by Studio Killers) (YouTube Link) (Spotify Link)

Hoida Mut by Benjamin (YouTube Link) (Spotify Link)

Kuuma jäbä by Isaac Sene (YouTube Link) (Spotify Link)

Cicciolina (YouTube Link) (Spotify Link) and Syntisten pöytä (YouTube Link) (Spotify Link) by Erika Vikman

Tähdet, taivas ja sä by Saara Aalto (YouTube Link) (Spotify Link)

(Mentioned in relation: Monsters by Saara Aalto) (YouTube Link) (Spotify Link)

2080-luvulla, (YouTube Link) (Spotify Link) Hei kevät (YouTube Link) (Spotify Link) and Pornoo (YouTube Link) (Spotify Link) by SANNI (though her discography in general is pretty great. Especially her album Sotke Mut has many good songs imo.)

Sydämeni osuman sai (YouTube Link) (Spotify Link) by Siiri Nordin (out of her albums I personally enjoy Lyö tahtia the most.)

(Sydämeni osuman sai is a cover of the song Something’s Gotten Hold of my Heart written by Roger Greenway and Roger Cook.)

Rakkautta ja Piikkilankaa (YouTube Link) (Spotify Link) by Sini Yasemin

(Cover of the song Rakkauta ja Piikkilankaa by Uniklubi) (YouTube Link) (Spotify Link) (Fun fact I absolutely adored this song as a kid lol)

First off, I think it’s essential to start with the Finnish lesbian anthem: ”Ihmisten edessä” by Jenni Vartiainen. This song is really important for many people my age, as it was pretty much ”Baby’s first exposure to non-het relationships” to a lot of people. The song is an absolute banger, and, fun fact, was written and composed by Teemu Brunila, who is believed to be the voice behind Studio Killers’ singer Cherry. Thus it’s likely that he may even have been involved in the creation of Jenny, which is another lesbian anthem.

Then we have our UMK contestants who didn’t quite make it to the Eurovision like Benjamin who competed with the song ”Hoida Mut” in 2023, Isaac Sene who competed with the song ”Kuuma jäbä” in 2022, and Erika Vikman, who competed in 2020 with the song ”Cicciolina”. Out of these three, Hoida Mut and Kuuma jäbä make it obvious that they’re about gay relationships, while Cicciolina is open for interpretation (which may be because Erika is bisexual). Of course, there is also Saara Aalto, who competed in the Eurovision song contest in 2018 with ”Monsters”.  Out of her songs that are in Finnish, I personally like the song ”Tähdet, taivas ja sä” the most.

One of my favourite Finnish LGBTQ artists is SANNI. Some of my favourite songs by her are 2080-luvulla, Hei kevät, and Pornoo.

The singer Siiri Nordin is also LGBTQ. Her cover of the song "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart”, called ”Sydämeni osuman sai” is very lovely.

I can’t say I’m super familiar with the career of Sini Yasemin, however she is an emerging LGBTQ artist whose work is also worth looking into! Her cover of Rakkautta ja piikkilankaa (originally performed by the rock group Uniklubi) is probably a safe place to start if you want to get a grasp of her sound.

Again, for anyone who can come up with more songs/artists, feel free to add onto this!

[because-its-eurovision]

do you think we finns get to send another rock act to ESC next year? 👀 we've been doing so well with BC and Jere but I feel like we never get too many in a row before people just forget what our strengths are and try to send in another ballad 😭

Based on the hints UMK shared about the participants of next year, there’s going to be at least one rock act involved so I’d say there’s a fair chance it gets picked. It all comes down to the entry itself though, and a good song is a good song regardless of genre. At this point I don’t credit our success that much to certain genres as Cha cha cha was something we’ve never seen in Eurovision before, but to choosing whatever we (the Finnish public) like. It has proven that we’re not afraid to vote for bold entries - Lordi, PKN, Erika, BC, Käärijä, not to mention UMK second-placers Teflon Brothers & Portion Boys - and lately that has also paid off.

Heavier entries are usually my personal preference as well and I do think that is still what we're best at. Still I’d love us to send something really ethnic-inspired (think Ukraine 2016/2021, Montenegro 2015, Czechia 2023), perhaps even in a Sámi language, or a gorgeous Finnish-language ballad. I don’t accept ballad slander here 😤 Pernilla, Norma John, Ilta and Lxandra were all amazing (Norma John would’ve qualified with televote only) and my dream would be to see something like Lautturi or Missä muruseni on from us.

You don't have to be afraid though since Finland hasn't gotten behind any ballads in UMK after 2017 when Norma John was the only reasonable choice since the early favourite Emma messed up her live. In 2020 Aksel won thanks to juries and Erika's live wasn't convincing though she eventually did win the televote.

Personally I’m more afraid of lukewarm pop entries (we can never beat Sweden in that territory) or trying too hard to be Eurovision-appropiate like Saara Aalto and Darude did, without really understanding what the contest is about nowadays. Thankfully UMK seems to be finally going to the right direction as every performance last year was visually incredible and contest-ready, and got rid of the ridiculous clichés like dresschanges. I have very high hopes and faith in UMK team for the first time ever and I can’t wait to see what they deliver next year 🥰

[ethantism]

Queer ESC Day 38: Saara Aalto

Saara Aalto sang for Finland in 2018 and is a well known artist both in Finland and internationally. She is also known for voicing Anna in the Finnish dub of Frozen. Aalto is a lesbian and married her longtime girlfriend and manager in 2023.

[teal-skull]

Shuffle your favorite playlist and post the first five songs that come up. Then copy/paste this ask to your favorite mutuals. 💌💜

Huge thank you for the ask! 🫀

For this I'm gonna pick a playlist of songs that I would play if I was a DJ at a clup. It started when me and my fiends complained how we were at supposedly "lgbt"-themed party during pride and they didn't play (in our opinion) any gay music. Then I started growing the playlist one night planning it more and dividing it into parts etc. It's 8 hours long currently....

(on my defence, I think this would do well if you played this at a night clup in Finland, this is at least a karaoke classic. Also yes the playlist has a " iconic finnish classics" section)

(I don't actually like this song but at the time of adding it I needed filler because I wanted the playlist to be multiple hours long, and well, the playlist does have eurovision section, except I put Saara in the "general pop songs" section, because the esc section is reserved for actual bangers)

I put this in the playlist because I wanted to being some goth clup vibe, and I like this rock version justas much as the original!

[lageografiademicamino]

UMK25 Song review: Nightmares

Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK) is back and stronger than ever! We have seven new artists ready to compete for the trophy and the ticket to Basel in May! The first song kicked off the UMK season with a banger!

Neea River - Nightmares

Neea River is a singer-songwriter who was discovered on Instagram (she sang Céline Dion's All By Myself) during her holidays in L.A. The singing sensation has since written songs for other artists (Bess, Laura Voutilainen, Blanka, K-Pop artists etc). So she has a full day job as a music professional and she's made a name for herself as one.

As a solo artist she's been pushed by her label to switch to Finnish but she's always found English as a more natural choice. Now days, she has own label. She loves dance pop genre, loud bangers and Eurovision. Her musical influencers are Britney Spears, Weekend and Rihanna.

Her UMK song Nightmares was inspired by traumatic experience and reminds the people that there's always an exit of the difficult experiences. She wrote it together with Ilkka Wirtanen and Petri Alanko. With Nightmares she wants to bring pure pop banger to Eurovision from Finland.

Nightmares is her first own song to be released as a solo artist. And so far it has been compared to Loreen (Sweden, 2023), Keiino (Norway 2019) and Saara Aalto (Finland, 2018). This defintely has a nordic sound!

The beginning starts with a dark, mysterious tone - some might be fooled to think we have a ballad in our hands. The song builds up strong to the first drop which reveals the EMD/ disco beat which is the core of the song. This could be easily taken from early 2000's house music scene.

The woman can sing even though many have been worried the layered edits on her voice during the track. Personally, I'm not one of those people. There's a debate going on whether the dancing she does in the music video is part how you do it in this type of music or if she's actually just not the best at it.

It's true that often EMD tracks it's difficult to get a real climax, a drop happening later in the song because the beat is so strong and in here the song tends to continue kind of predictably without further surprises. This bothers me a bit tbh.

A lot of people speak about "the eurovision sound" and how much this song has it. Yeah would be an easy fit to the contest and a big pleaser for a lot of people. But I don't see this pulling a lot points

However, this is an impressive defeat for someone producing her own music as independantly as Neea does and running her own label on top of it - I do hope all the best for Neea but I have a feeling this ain't our UMK25 winner.

What do you think of the first UMK25 track and what are the chances of Neea to advance to ESC? Talk to me in the comments below!

[eurovision-song-bracket]

Songs from the 2010s, but I accidentally made the poll one day instead of one week, so here is a redo

2018 - “Fuego” by Eleni Foureira (Cyprus)

2018 - “Monsters” by Saara Aalto (Finland)

[maester-of-spreadsheets]

🎧 for the ask game!

So tonight I'm making friends with all the creatures

That are hiding there under my bed

I ain't gonna hold on to these monsters anymore

[duskodair]

A handful of non Eurovision songs from Eurovision artists that I've followed during and after the competition was over

Keiino ft. Charlotte Qamaniq - black leather (this is like choosing a favourite child but I love the whole Okta album so much and the project behind it but also Unbreakable and Summer of my Life, gang)

Hatari ft. Bashar Murad- Klefi / Samed (banger of a post Eurovision number. In their postcard outfits no less, legends)

Käärijä - Paidaton riehuja (I love him. This slaps. It was so hard to pick one of the many many songs I've had on loop this last couple of days but this one slaps)

Saara Aalto - Dance like nobody's watching (Saara I love you. I followed dancing on Ice avidly because you were in it and I was so excited for you)

Dadi Freyr (sorry my keyboard is lacking letters) ft. ÁSDÍS - feel the love (banger. What else need I say?)

Mélovin - Unbroken (legend. King. this still slaps)

[idiotlittleme]

Top 10 Reasons 2018 is my fave esc year

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

[martin-osterdahl-official]

Month of LGBTQIA+ Eurovision contestants: Saara Aalto (8/30)

I am very proud to be lesbian and I feel very much like I am lesbian, totally.