Saara Aalto delivers strong second potential Eurovision entry
Finnish pop star Saara Aalto has big plans for 2018. The lady with the big voice who made a career out of becoming the runner up in every competition she takes part in, is ready for more. After finishing 2nd in the Finnish version of The Voice and the Finnish Eurovision national final twice, she tried her luck in the UK participating in X Factor, again reaching number 2. Aalto gained international recognition for this and became an icon in her home country. She is now selected to (finally) represent Finland in Eurovision and she will premiere three potential entries in the coming weeks which will compete in a national final on the 3rd of March. After first track ‘Monsters’, which was received extremely well, we now get to hear ‘Domino’.

While ‘Monsters’ could be described as fabulous Eurovision pop meets tropical trend with a humongous chorus, ‘Domino’ is more of a contemporary midtempo pop track. I’m glad to report that the term ‘humongous chorus’ is applicable here as well. The verses are quite toned down vocally, but in the chorus Aalto belts for her life over a soaring melody. If I have to compare it to a previous Eurovision entry, I’d say it is most similar to Australia’s ‘Sound Of Silence’, performed by Dami Im. This tune finished as runner-up too… Lyrically, ‘Domino’ is a pure love song that describes the moment of falling for someone. The track is catchy and easy to sing along to after just a few listens, which could work in its favour at Eurovision. Also, the added drama in the instrumentation in the middle-eight could become a moment visually on stage as well!

The only thing that (very slightly) bugs me about the tune is the ‘wrecking ball’ lyric which seems a bit reductive after Miley’s big pop culture moment. Other than that there really is no arguing with ‘Domino’. It is a solid pop track that could have been written by Sia, with an excellent chorus and outstanding vocals. Can we not just disqualify the two countries with the most pointless songs and let Saara perform all three tracks? The Finnish people are going to have a hard job choosing the best one out of these tracks!