BANGKOK (PA Media/dpa): A Filipino teenager has won the first ever Eurovision Song Contest Asia with a song backing women’s empowerment.
Carmelle Collado, 19, took the title in Bangkok in a smaller version of the famous European extravaganza, which featured 11 acts.
Eurovision bosses launched the competition earlier this year, aiming to "evolve Eurovision together with Asia.”
Eurovision previously tried to expand internationally with the American Song Contest. However, it only lasted one year amid poor viewing figures.
Collado’s song Sobra-Sobra, which mixes English and Tagalog, secured the most points from the public vote and jury of peers.
It has been described as a tribute to Filipino women and includes lyrics such as "When I show my strength too bad you can’t stop me” and "I won’t put myself down.”
The Philippines won the contest with 211 points, followed by Thailand with 170 and Vietnam with 164.
It was announced earlier this year that the Eurovision Song Contest would launch its first-ever Asia edition, with broadcasters from 11 countries in the region including Vietnam, South Korea, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Mongolia, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Malaysia.
Many of the acts were already well-known, including actor, host, model, and singer Beck, who represented Mongolia.
The show also featured a performance from Dara, who won the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna in May with her song Bangaranga.
The voting worked in the same way as the Eurovision Song Contest, with the winner determined by a split-vote between the public and a jury of peers.
Collado’s win comes a year after Filipino-Austrian countertenor Johannes ‘JJ’ Pietsch made Eurovision history by winning the 2025 contest, becoming the first person of Filipino heritage and Asian descent to win the Eurovision Song Contest. -- PA MEDIA/dpa
