Philippines' Carmelle Wins First Eurovision Asia With 211 Points in Bangkok

Filipino singer Carmelle won the first Eurovision Song Contest Asia on Saturday in Bangkok with her dance-pop and rap track “Sobra-Sobra,” finishing on 211 points. Thailand's duo Mang x Daou came second with 170 points, according to the BBC and The Guardian.

The 19-year-old beat 10 other acts in the grand final, ABC News reported. The winner was chosen through votes from national juries in the participating countries and from viewers worldwide.

How the Bangkok final played out

Eleven countries competed, according to the BBC and The Guardian. The BBC's scoreboard put Vietnam third with 164 points, Malaysia fourth with 152 and Laos fifth with 139. Bhutan, South Korea, Mongolia, Nepal, Cambodia and Bangladesh followed.

Half the result came from the 11 national juries and half from the public vote, the BBC reported, with additional points from a rest-of-the-world vote. Carmelle earned 93 points from the juries and 118 from the public. The Guardian reported that she led both the jury and the viewer ballots, and that the juries voted at a dress rehearsal on Friday night.

According to The Guardian, viewers could vote online but not for their own country. Each had eight free votes and the option to buy 10 more.

The Guardian said the show ran for two and a half hours including advertising. Acts arrived on stage in tuk-tuks, ABC News and The Guardian reported. ABC News also said Bulgarian singer Dara, winner of this year's European contest, performed as a guest. The Guardian said she presented the trophy. Carmelle receives no prize money, the outlet added.

Who Carmelle is and what she sang

The Guardian reported that Carmelle, whose full name is Carmelle Collado, grew up beside the railway tracks in the Bicol region of south-eastern Luzon and has competed in televised talent contests since she was 12. It said “Sobra-Sobra” mixes pop and rap, uses the traditional Philippine instruments kubing and kulintang, and is sung in Tagalog and English.

After her win, she told the Associated Press the song celebrates female empowerment and is “a tribute to all Filipino women.” She also said: “I made history, since this was the first time.”

Other moments of the night

The BBC said Laos's Thinla performed in a traditional Lao hilltribe outfit. The Guardian reported that she could not hear her own music during her performance, and that her dress rehearsal was aired after the live acts finished. She placed fifth with the third-highest public score, according to the same report.

Bangladesh's Beatmosphere sang without a backing track, the BBC reported. The Guardian added that three members of the originally nine-member group were left out of the final because of a rule capping each act at six performers on stage.

What this means for the contest's future

Organizers want the Bangkok show to be the first of many regional editions, The Guardian reported. Executive producer Assaf Blecher said 16 or 17 territories had expressed interest in competing next year, including China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Organizers have said the right to host future editions will not automatically go to the winner, because smaller countries lack the infrastructure, according to the outlet.

The BBC reported that many in the audience were established fans of the European contest. It also said the arena thinned out soon after Carmelle lifted the trophy, and that it is not yet clear how much commitment regional broadcasters have to keep the contest going or expand it beyond 11 countries. Reports differ on the venue's name: the BBC called it the One Bangkok Arena, while The Guardian called it the One Bangkok Forum.

ABC News said Eurovision historian Dean Vuletic, who attended, found the Asian edition less overshadowed by politics than the European contest, which has been caught up in international conflicts. He said an analysis of voting patterns might reveal political tendencies among participating countries. The Guardian reported that Carmelle will perform at Eurovision 2027 in Burgas.

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Around Prague, based on reporting by ABC News, BBC News, The Guardian

Cover photo: Quejaytee / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped