Carmelle was 19 and singing for Filipino women. She won the first Eurovision Asia with juries and viewers alike

The first Eurovision Song Contest Asia has its winner, and she is a 19-year-old who says she was singing for the women of her country.

Carmelle, representing the Philippines, won the grand final at One Bangkok Forum on Saturday night with “Sobra-Sobra”, a high-energy dance-pop track she has described as a celebration of female empowerment and a tribute to Filipino women. The result came through late on Saturday night Bangkok time, in the early hours of Sunday in eastern Australia.

She finished on 211 points, topping both halves of the vote: 93 points from the 11 national juries and 118 from viewers. Thailand’s Mang x Daou were second with “Aroma” on 170 points, and Vietnam’s Tóc Tiên third with “Em Tiên” on 164. Malaysia’s Aina Abdul, with the ballad “Bluest Sky”, came fourth, and Thinla of Laos fifth.

Bulgaria’s Dara, who won the 70th Eurovision in Vienna in May, performed and handed over the trophy.

Who was in it?

Eleven countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, the Philippines, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. There were no semi-finals. All 11 acts performed on one night, entering on tuk-tuks and waving their flags, and the songs were sung in 10 local languages and English.

The show was hosted by Woody Milintachinda and Cindy Bishop, with Thai singer and actor Jeff Satur among the guest acts.

How did the voting work?

Juries in each of the 11 competing countries made up half the result and viewers the other half. Votes came in from 183 countries and territories, according to the European Broadcasting Union, which runs the contest. Viewers outside the competing countries were pooled into a single “Rest of the World” vote, worth the same as one country.

That matters for the Philippines, whose diaspora is one of the largest and most spread out in the world. Topping the public vote by a wide margin suggests that support came from well beyond Manila.

Where does Australia come in?

Australia was not on stage, but it was in the audience. SBS carried the show, one of four broadcasters outside Asia to do so, alongside KAN in Israel, TVP in Poland and Sveriges Radio in Sweden. It also streamed on Eurovision’s official YouTube channel.

An Asian version of Eurovision was first announced in the late 2010s, with SBS among the early partners, before plans stalled for years. Saturday’s show was the first time it actually went to air.

What does she win?

No money, and not the hosting rights. Unlike the European contest, where the winning country usually stages the next year’s event, Eurovision Asia’s winner does not decide where the next one goes.

Instead, Carmelle will be invited to perform as a guest at the Eurovision Song Contest 2027 in Burgas, Bulgaria, putting a Filipino act on the biggest stage the contest has.

Was it as political as the European show?

Less so, by most accounts on the night. The European contest has spent years caught up in conflict, from Russia’s expulsion in 2022 to this year’s boycott by Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Iceland and Slovenia over Israel’s participation.

Eurovision historian Dean Vuletic, who was in Bangkok, called the new contest “a great window into the musical cultures of Asia”, though he said its voting patterns would be worth studying for political leanings.

Contest director Martin Green congratulated Carmelle and the Philippines on becoming the first winners, and executive producer Assaf Blecher said it was “just the beginning” for Eurovision in Asia.