Pass the hotdog! The Wiwi Jury continues to rate and review the finalists of Melodifestivalen 2017. Next up we look at the legendary Owe Thörnqvist with “Boogieman Blues”. Did his tune make us want to boogie? Read on to find out!
Owe Thörnqvist – “Boogieman Blues”
Watch the performance on YouTube
About Owe Thörnqvist
The 87-year-old entertainment legend is the oldest ever Melfest participant. This will mark his first time at Mello as a singer, however in the 1960s he wrote three songs for other artists.
Wiwi Jury reviews “Boogieman Blues”
Luis: Props to Owe for bringing it down as he did at age 87. Lesbihonest, he’s not going to represent Sweden, but having him on the final is so entertaining. This entry is a proof of why Melfest appeals to practically everyone in Sweden: you can be in the asylum and still find someone suitable for your liking! “Boogieman Blues” is quirky and fun, and you hardly see a 87-year-old man rocking a stage the way Owe does.
Score: 6/10
Robyn: If Melfest was just Sweden’s Eurovision selection show, they could just have one show with the 12 best acts and be done with it. But it’s more than that. Melfest is also a six-week-long family show that celebrates the best in popular Swedish music, and that includes music legends making their Melfest debut. “Boogieman Blues” is vey entertaining and it put a smile on my face . I love that Owe has gone direkt ill final and will bring his octogenarian rock to Friends Arena.
Score: 6.5/10
Anthony: On the day Lincoln City caused an almighty upset, Owe Thörnqvist has shown that anything can happen at Melodifestivalen. On a serious note however, Sweden have their sights on equaling Ireland’s Eurovision record and “Boogieman Blues” isn’t the answer. Hasse Andersson surprised me in 2015, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Owe gets a similar result in the final.
Score: 5/10
Sami: For some reason this annoys me a lot. This might be original when you compare it with the other songs at Melodifestivalen, but it’s basically the same song Owe has done many times before — in the ’50s. It doesn’t stand a chance when it comes to representing Sweden at Eurovision, so I don’t know what it is doing in the final either.
Score: 1/10
Chris: There’s something just so refreshing about Owe that stands out at Melfest, particularly in 2017. With a year full of generic electro and G:Son/The Family a plenty, “Boogieman Blues” is just…nice. I can’t deny Owe his spot in the final and in some ways, I think it’s actually deserved. He gets my foot tapping along and I’ll probably enjoy this when he comes on at Friends Arena.
Score: 6/10
William: He’s got a big personality, a tender spirit and the support of sentimental Swedes. Unfortunately, and as much as I enjoy watching an 87-year-old eat hot dogs, I don’t want the gag to go on any further. At times he looks pained on the stage — as everyone else provides the movement he can’t — and I feel like I’m at some exploitative circus. Yes, he’s enjoying himself, but something about this doesn’t sit well with me. Most likely it’s the appalling song.
Score: 3/10
Deban: Sticking out like a sore thumb, “Boogieman Blues” is a throwback entry in a forward-thinking song contest. Much of Owe Thörnqvist’s delivery is conversational, and his backup dancers take on a more centre-stage role than I would wish for. However, this “expected” composition is refreshingly age-appropriate.
Score: 5/10
Forrest: Regardless of the era it comes from, “Boogieman Blues” is quite simply a smile-inducing three minutes. Owe delivers the confidence and swagger that comes with his over 60 years of experience in this genre, and his quirky demeanour is charming. This may manage to get a respectable result in the Melfest final, but there is a high degree of certainty it is not the song going to Kyiv. Nevertheless, it’s nice to see that, at least in Sweden, doo-wop isn’t dead.
Score: 6/10
Our jury for Melodifestivalen 2017 contains 28 jurors, but we only have room for eight reviews. The remaining scores are listed below.
Angus: 2/10
Antony: 4/10
Antranig: 1.5/10
Bernardo: 5.5/10
Dayana: 7/10
Edd: 7/10
Erdi: 7.5/10
Jason: 7/10
Jordi: 7.5/10
Josh: 2/10
Jovana: 7/10
Mikhail: 5/10
Natalie: 8/10
Patrick: 4/10
Rezo: 4/10
Ron: 5.5/10
Sinan: 6/10
Steinunn: 7/10
Tobias: 0/10
Zakaria: 7/10
Before calculating the average score, the highest and lowest scores are dropped. This is to remove outliers and reduce potential bias. We have removed a low of 0 and a high of 8.
Great!
@CookyMonzta – Roger deserved the final for sure. Lisa Ajax getting through ahead of him was bad, too.
@Briekimchi: Alas; I would have preferred Roger Pontare’s “Himmel Och Hav” in the final, even though he might have wound up splitting votes with Jon Henrik (not good for either one). So much better, this song was, than either Owe’s at MF or Ivo’s at Eesti Laul.
It is sad because it is just not a good song.
Ivo Linna in Estonia showed that you could be older and still bring a decent entry to the contest. Owe being in Melfest was cool but that should have been his moment. Putting him in the final when other songs missed out…..bad taste left in the mouth to be honest.
One of the better acts in an awful final. Probably my #3 to represent Sweden
It’s just not my cup of tea. It comes from another era. That’s not necassarily a bad thing, but in this specific occasion, it is.
This is my 4th favorite song of Melodifestivalen finals this year. It’s cute, funny, uplifting and different than anything else. I’d much rather see Owe win than majority of generic pop songs in the line-up.
the best song in melodifestivalen 2017
but like always older singers get low score in this website
the oldest singer in this year’s eurovision so far in only 38
Y’all did Daddy Owe wrong, this song and performance are fun and more deserving of the Eurovision than half of the Melfest finalists.
I agree with sex personified Tobias *woof*
This song deserves a 0-1 rather than a 5