Saara Valkama

Saara Maria Valkama (born 22 June 1986) is a Finnish singer, songwriter, and teacher. She first came to prominence in 2016 after placing as a semi-finalist on season five of The Voice Finland. She also competed in SuomenLaulu 1 with the song "Enough" along with Juha Piironen.

Early life
Valkama was born on 22 June 1986 in Nokia, Pirkanmaa. Her father is an industrial worker, while her mother is a nurse. She grew up with one younger brother. Her parents divorced when she was 13 years old, and she was subsequently raised by her mother. Her mother remarried in 2008. As a child, she sang in a local church choir and performed in musical theatre.

Valkama graduated from compulsory education in 2002. Afterwards, she began attending a high school in the nearby Tampere. She graduated from high school in 2005, and began attending the University of Tampere, studying mathematics. She graduated from university in 2009, and earned her master's degree in 2011. She then began working as a high school mathematics teacher in Tampere.

2016–present: The Voice Finland and SuomenLaulu
In 2016, Valkama auditioned for season five of The Voice Finland. She eventually made it onto the show and took a leave of absence from her teaching job. Ultimately, she placed as a semi-finalist on the show, and returned to her teaching job. She decided to pursue a music career part time in order to continue teaching.

In 2016, she recorded the song "Enough" with Juha Piironen, and submitted it to SuomenLaulu 1, Finland's national final for the Eurovision Song Contest. They ended up qualifying as finalists, and placed sixth in the final, placing sixth in the jury vote and seventh with the public vote.