Few Brits (and even fewer Finns) can have missed the fact that Saara Aalto, a Finnish singer, is edging closer to the final of the X Factor, the popular singing talent competition devised by Simon Cowell.

Apart from being interested because Saara is a former student of Chinese with Richard Lewis Communications, her rise through the competition has been personally fascinating from a cultural point of view.

It took the judges quite a while to remember which country she was from, especially her mentor Sharon Osbourne who alternately placed her in Norway and Denmark: only after being reminded by Louis Walsh that she was from Scandinavia. (Note to Louis - Finland is not a Scandinavian country, but a Nordic one...) No surprise, as Finns are generally pretty modest about their homeland and its achievements.

And to begin with - although many people recognised what a great voice she has - her performances somehow didn't connect with the audience. She seemed a little detached. For some weeks she clung onto her place by a thread - coming back as a Wild Card, after being sent home following a naive choice of a French song (to a British audience?) to defend herself.

Others in the contestants' house also complained that she was quiet and kept herself to herself - typical for Finns.

Yet, to the judges' (and audience's) surprise, the more knocks she got, the harder she fought. Simon Cowell in particular was amazed and latched onto this incredible fighting spirit. Well, Simon, it has a name - Sisu - and is one of those untranslatable words that takes you to the heart of a culture, meaning 'guts', 'persistence', 'never giving up' and a whole lot more.

If you want more insights, take a look at this article from Business Insider http://www.businessinsider.com.au/finnish-word-sisu-is-key-to-success-2014-6?r=US&IR=T

Whether she manages to win the entire series remains to be seen. There are many factors at play in public voting, not least of which is that she is not a native Brit. She has other talents up her sleeve - such as an excellent command of social media (young Finns are world-beaters in this) - but it may still not be enough.

But, if she doesn't win, it won't be for lack of trying. Sisu is without doubt an X Factor which can push all of us that extra mile!



























