Philippines wins inaugural Eurovision Song Contest Asia
Carmelle, a 19-year-old singer from the Philippines, won the first Eurovision Song Contest Asia in Bangkok with the song Sobra-Sobra. Eleven countries took part.
The Philippines has won the first-ever Eurovision Song Contest Asia, held in the Thai capital Bangkok, where 11 countries competed for the title. The win went to 19-year-old singer Carmelle. An Asian edition of Eurovision had been discussed for decades without ever materialising.
Carmelle won with Sobra-Sobra, a women's empowerment anthem featuring a catchy rap section. She collected 211 points: 93 from the juries and 118 from the public vote. Thailand's duo MANG x DAOU finished second with 170 points for their song Aroma, and Vietnam's Toc Tien took third with 164. Carmelle was the youngest contestant in the field.
Voting and results
The voting system resembles that of the European Eurovision: the public vote makes up 50% of the result and the 11 national juries the other 50%, with extra points from a rest-of-the-world vote. The remaining places went to Malaysia (152 points), Laos (139), Bhutan (126), the Republic of Korea (113), Mongolia (94), Nepal (69), Cambodia (61) and Bangladesh (35).
Bangladeshi beatboxers Beatmosphere skipped the usual backing track and used their voices to imitate drums and basslines. Laos's Thinla performed in a traditional Lao hilltribe outfit. A technical issue during the broadcast led to her song Bae's music video being played, making it the last song the audience heard before the vote.
The show also featured Dara from Bulgaria, the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest winner, who performed her winning song Bangaranga and a new track, Bad Idea. Thai performer Jeff Satur also appeared.
Future still unclear
Many in the audience were established fans of the original contest from other parts of the world. Fans who travelled from Scotland and England said they enjoyed the show and suggested "Asia Vision" as the name for next year's edition. However, the One Bangkok Arena began to thin out soon after Carmelle lifted the trophy, and it was crowded but not full. It remains unclear how committed regional broadcasters are to continuing the contest and expanding it beyond 11 countries.
