The Philippines has been crowned the first-ever winner of Eurovision Asia, with 19-year-old singer Carmelle taking victory with her song ‘Sobra-Sobra’ – watch her performance below.
The long-awaited spin-off of Eurovision held its inaugural final at the One Bangkok Forum in Thailand yesterday (November 14), with 11 countries competing for the title.
Carmelle, whose full name is Carmelle Collado, finished with 211 points, receiving 93 from the national juries and 118 from the public vote. She topped both categories to finish 41 points ahead of the host country’s representatives, MANG x DAOU, whose song ‘Aroma’ received 170 points.
Vietnam’s Tóc Tiên finished third with ‘EM TIÊN’ on 164 points, while Malaysia and Laos completed the top five.
Carmelle’s winning song ‘Sobra-Sobra’, meaning ‘Too Much’, is a women’s empowerment anthem that combines dance-pop and rap with traditional Filipino instruments, including the kubing and kulintang.
Watch the winning performance below:
Speaking after her victory, Carmelle described the song as “a tribute to all Filipino women”.
“I made history, since this was the first time,” she told the Associated Press. “It’s such a big responsibility for me, because this one is a global stage, so thank you everybody who voted for me.”
The singer, who grew up in the Bicol region of the Philippines, previously found success on televised singing competitions, finishing as runner-up on The Voice Kids and winning Tawag ng Tanghalan. She also appeared on Pinoy Big Brother.
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The contest brought together performers from the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Laos, Bhutan, South Korea, Mongolia, Nepal, Cambodia and Bangladesh.
Other notable performances included Thailand’s MANG x DAOU, whose emotional duet ‘Aroma’ received a huge reception from the home crowd, and Bangladesh’s Beatmosphere, who performed entirely a cappella, using beatboxing to recreate drums and basslines.
The full final standings were:
- Philippines – Carmelle – 211 points
- Thailand – MANG x DAOU – 170 points
- Vietnam – Tóc Tiên – 164 points
- Malaysia – Aina Abdul – 152 points
- Laos – Thinla – 139 points
- Bhutan – Nyendra – 126 points
- South Korea – JUNHEE – 113 points
- Mongolia – Beck – 94 points
- Nepal – Pratik Himal Rai – 69 points
- Cambodia – Monetrey – 61 points
- Bangladesh – Beatmosphere – 35 points
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The evening also featured guest performances from Thai singer Jeff Satur and Bulgaria’s Dara, who won the main Eurovision Song Contest earlier this year with ‘Bangaranga’.
Dara performed her winning song alongside her new single ‘Bad Idea’, before presenting Carmelle with the trophy.
The Asian edition had been discussed for years, with several previous attempts to launch a regional version of Eurovision having failed to materialise.
Martin Green, director of the Eurovision Song Contest, said: “Congratulations to CARMELLE and the Philippines on becoming the first-ever winners of Eurovision Song Contest Asia. What an historic achievement!”
Carmelle will now perform at Eurovision 2027 in Burgas, Bulgaria, although she will not be competing in the European contest.
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