ABBA’s Benny Has A Grandson On The Pop Trail

Charlie Grönvall, the grandson of ABBA‘s Benny Andersson, impressed judges when he auditioned for a spot on Sweden’s Idol TV talent show, which aired  last night (5).

He is the son of Peter and Nanne Grönvall, and his mother has pop experience of her own, having poerformed on Melodifestivalen, Sweden’s pre-Eurovision contest, which Charlie himself did in 2014 with his band Little Great Things.

The TV4 series Idol has helped to launch the careers of such artists as Måns Zelmerlöw and Loreen. Website thelocal.se reports that in the televised audition, judge Fredrik Kempe requested of the audience: “Let’s not focus on his parents, let’s listen to Charlie.”

You can watch 26-year-old Grönvall’s performance of Pink’s ‘Just Give Me A Reason’ above, and see how the judges quickly sent him through to the next stage of the contest. Judge Nikki Amini told him: “”You are awesome! You are crazy cool. Everything about you is very unique and that is amazing,”

Swedish-American producer Quincy Jones III, also on the panel and himself from noble musical stock, added: “You have an artist’s aura, your voice has its own ID, you immediately hear that it’s you.”

Grönvall himself commented: “I have always dreamed of doing Idol, but this year is the first time I feel like I believe in my ability to do this, so it was worth a try. It feels good now. It was fun.”

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Format: UK English