Figure caption, Philippines’ Carmelle has won the first Eurovision Song Contest Asia with her women’s empowerment anthem Sobra-Sobra
ByJonathan HeadSouth East Asia correspondent, in BangkokThuong LeReporting fromBangkok and Jack GreyBBC News
The Philippines have won the very first Eurovision Song Contest Asia, hosted in Bangkok and with 11 countries vying for the title.
Nineteen-year-old singer Carmelle was always a front runner with her women’s empowerment anthem Sobra-Sobra, complete with its catchy rap section.
She earned 211 points in total – 93 from the jury and 118 from the public vote – ahead of Thailand’s MANG x DAOU in second place with 170 points.
There was a joyous atmosphere at the One Bangkok Arena as the crowd cheered the contestants and celebrated the popular winner.
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption, Carmelle was the youngest contestant in the comeptions at 19 years old
Carmelle, the youngest contestant in the competition, was an obvious favourite with the juries and the public despite strong showings from several nations.
Other notable acts included MANG x DAOU, whose emotive duet Aroma elicited huge cheers from the home crowd.
Bangladeshi beatboxers Beatmosphere eschewed the traditional backing track, instead using their voices to replicate the sounds of drums and basslines.
And Laos’s Thinla performed her crowd-pleasing song Bae in a traditional Lao hilltribe outfit.
However, the Laotian song had a unintentional second outing after the music video was played over an apparent technical issue during the broadcast – meaning it was the last song the audience heard before the vote.
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption, Thinla wore a traditional Lao hilltribe outfit during her performance
The voting system worked much the same as the European Eurovison, with the public vote accounting for 50% of the result and the other 50% coming from the 11 national juries – with additional points awarded from a rest of the world vote.
Here’s how the final scoreboard ended:
1. The Philippines – 211 points
2. Thailand – 170 points
3. Vietnam – 164 points
4. Malaysia – 152 points
5. Laos – 139 points
6. Bhutan – 126 points
7. Republic of Korea – 113 points
8. Mongolia – 94 points
9. Nepal – 69 points
10. Cambodia – 61 points
11. Bangladesh – 35 points
Also performing during the broadcast was 2026 Eurovision Song Contest winner Dara from Bulgaria, who performed her winning song Bangaranga and new song Bad Idea.
Thai superstar Jeff Satur also made an appearance, hitting the high notes in his performance of Black Tie.
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption, Vietnam’s Toc Tien came third with 164 points
Eurovision in Asia was an idea that has been talked about for decades, but one that never seemed to materialise – despite many false starts – until now.
There is a huge enthusiasm here for Eurovision Asia, but a large number of the audience were established fans of the original contest from other countries and regions of the world.
Speaking after the show, fan Zelie Pereira – who travelled from Scotland to Thailand to attend – said she was “very happy” with Carmelle’s win.
Image source, BBC/Jack Tran
Image caption, Eurvosion superfans Michael, Scarlett and Zelie travelled from the UK to Thailand to watch Eurovision Asia’s first outing
Korea, Vietnam and Laos also received praise from Pereira and her friends Michael Peters and Scarlett Massie, both from England.
“It was amazing, a very high standard,” said Massie.
“The dance was amazing. The sets were amazing. The costumes were amazing. The singing was amazing. Incredible”, Peters added.
They confidently declared that “Asia Vision” should be the name for next year’s show.
For some, it seems the excitement for another edition is already building.
However the crowd at the One Bangkok Arena thinned out not long after the Philippines singer Carmelle lifted the trophy.
The arena was crowded, but not full, and it’s still not clear how much commitment there is among regional broadcasters to keep the contest going and expand it to more than 11 countries.
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