MANILA: Carmelle Collado’s 'Sobra-Sobra' was named the Philippines’ official entry to the inaugural Eurovision Song Contest Asia during the Philippine Selection Night on Sunday (Aug 30), in Quezon City.
The song, written by Nica del Rosario and Mat Olavides, will represent the Philippines at the inaugural international competition, which will be held in Bangkok, Thailand, on Nov 14.
'Broken Beyond Repair', written by Angelo Gonzales and performed by SAGA, placed second, while 'Mapadama', composed by Jungee Marcelo and Jeremy Glinoga and performed by JM dela Cerna and Marielle Montellano, finished third.
Collado emerged as the winner among 10 acts that competed for the chance to become the Philippines’ first representative to Eurovision Song Contest Asia.
The other finalists were Jason Dy and Sassa Dagdag with 'Di ‘Yan (Red Flag)', DNA with 'Between Bituin', Nar Cabico, Elha Nympha, Esang de Torres and Lance Reblando with 'Cheri(e)', Ryssi Avila with 'Good For You', AJAA with 'Make It Exist', KHIMO with 'Reason to Leave', and Vvink and WRIVE Russu with 'Round N’ Round'.
Vice Ganda served as the main host of the Philippine Selection Night, with Darren Espanto and Alexa Ilacad as cohosts.
The competition’s panel of judges included FILSCAP president Nonoy Tan, Vina Morales, Angeline Quinto, television director Joane Laygo, Jed Madela, musician Choi Padilla and songwriter Maestro Louie Ocampo.
The Philippine selection was decided through a combination of 40% jury votes, 40% local votes and 20% votes from the rest of the world.
The Philippines is among the 11 countries currently confirmed to participate in Eurovision Song Contest Asia, marking the first major expansion of the Geneva, Switzerland-based Eurovision format into Asia.
The Asian edition follows the Eurovision Song Contest, the annual international music competition organised by the European Broadcasting Union. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
