'X Factor': Saara Aalto's Surge In Popularity Prompts Voting Investigation

‘X Factor’ producers were forced to investigate a potential voting loophole, following Saara Aalto’s recent surge in popularity. 

Show bosses were concerned Finnish fans could be able to vote for the singer from abroad, despite voting being restricted to UK residents. 

According to The Sun, they uncovered details of fans sharing ways of how to vote for the Finnish singer, providing a potential explanation for how she is now the favourite to win, despite having spent many weeks in the bottom two earlier in the competition. 

A source told the paper: “The app doesn’t say if you are voting from the UK so it’s hard to tell what is happening here.

“It does beg the question of how many votes from Finland are getting through when it’s just supposed to be people in this country.”

After looking into the matter, an ‘X Factor’ spokesperson insisted any voted from Finland would not have been counted. 

“Our investigations have shown there is no evidence that the vote result is being affected by this activity, though we are continuing to monitor the situation,” they said in a statement. 

Saara is one of three acts who will be battling it out to win ‘The X Factor’ in next weekend’s grand final. 

She’ll be facing competition from 5 After Midnight and Matt Terry, who nearly lost out on a place in the final after landing in the sing-off with Emily Middlemas. 

Simon Cowell’s protégée was later eliminated, after judges Nicole Scherzinger, Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh all voted to send her home. 

‘The X Factor’ continues on Saturday at 8pm on ITV.