Philippines' Carmelle Wins First Eurovision Song Contest Asia in Bangkok

On Saturday night in central Bangkok, a 19-year-old from the Philippines named Carmelle Collado won the first Eurovision Song Contest Asia, the first regional edition of the contest ever staged outside Europe. She performs under the single name Carmelle, and her song, Sobra-Sobra, finished on 211 points, 41 clear of the hosts, Thailand. Vietnam came third.

Eleven countries competed at the One Bangkok Forum, in a show that ran two and a half hours including advertising. Carmelle took the most votes from both the national juries and the public ballot. Half the result was settled before the broadcast: the 11 juries voted at Friday night's dress rehearsal and put the Philippines top with 93 points, ahead of Vietnam and Malaysia. The other half came from viewers around the world, who could vote online but not for their own country. Each had eight free votes and the option to buy 10 more.

Carmelle grew up beside the railway tracks in the Bicol region of south-eastern Luzon and has been competing in televised talent contests since she was 12. Sobra-Sobra blends pop and rap, is sung in Tagalog and English, and is backed by two traditional Philippine instruments, the kubing and kulintang. She described it as a tribute to all Filipino women. Before the final she told the Guardian it was about how unapologetic, independent and strong Filipinas are. Afterwards she told the Associated Press: "I made history, since this was the first time. It's such a big responsibility for me, because this one is a global stage."

The show opened with a tribute to the host country, with Muay Thai fighters sharing the stage with drag performers on street food carts. The 11 acts then arrived in tuk-tuks, each carrying its national flag. Vietnam's Tóc Tiên, a star at home for more than 20 years, performed first among dancers dressed as lotus leaves. Thailand was represented by Mang x Daou, a duo put together for the contest, who staged their duet like a musical number.

Nepal's Pratik Himal Rai delivered one of the most conventionally Eurovision performances with Ananta Maya, a rock ballad with fire imagery and a large heart-shaped structure behind him. He closed by appealing for support for his country, which he said was going through a very hard situation. In August, a rock and ice avalanche near the Chinese border triggered catastrophic flash floods that killed more than 1,500 people, with more than 5,000 reported missing.

Other acts leaned on national identity. Bangladesh's Beatmosphere, originally a nine-member a cappella and beatbox group, sang without instruments, and three members missed the final because of a six-performer cap on stage. Bhutan's Nyendra sang in the gho, the national dress for men, before Himalayan peaks, and Mongolia's Beck wore a reinterpreted deel. Laos's Thinla could not hear her own music during her performance, so her dress rehearsal was aired after the live acts. She finished fifth, with the night's third-highest public score.

Some of the contest's camp traditions came through the vote announcers. Jo Kwon, a veteran pop star who has played Adam in the Korean Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and the title role in Everybody's Talking About Jamie, read South Korea's points. Vice Ganda, a gay comedian and one of the biggest stars on Philippine television, read the Philippines'. The guest performer was Thai singer Jeff Satur, known across Asia through KinnPorsche, a 2022 male same-sex romance series.

Carmelle gets no prize money, but she receives a trophy presented by Dara, the Bulgarian singer who won this year's European contest, and will perform at Eurovision 2027 in Burgas. Organisers say hosting rights will not automatically pass to the winner, because smaller countries lack the infrastructure. Executive producer Assaf Blecher says 16 or 17 territories, including China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, have expressed interest in competing next year.