Malaysian singer Aina Abdul finished in fourth place at the inaugural Eurovision Song Contest Asia 2026, held in Bangkok, Thailand, on Nov 14.
The Philippines' representative, 19-year-old singer Carmelle, emerged as the first-ever winner of the competition, which featured 11 participating countries, including Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Bhutan, Mongolia, the Republic of Korea, Nepal, Cambodia and Bangladesh.
The host country finished second, while Vietnam took third place.
The 33-year-old Aina represented Malaysia with her original composition Bluest Sky. After performing the song, she left the audience with an uplifting message: "May you find your Bluest Sky".
Eurovision Asia was broadcast live on TV3 and Tonton in Malaysia, as well as on YouTube.
Aina's fourth-place finish gave her an opportunity to showcase her talent on an international stage, marking an important milestone in her career.
The singer had previously described her journey towards the prestigious competition as far from easy, saying she had to overcome various challenges before reaching the much-anticipated event.
Besides looking forward to testing her abilities on an international stage, she said she wanted to discover how far she could go.
"Can Aina Abdul make it beyond Malaysia? That is something I want to find out for myself," she said.
The Eurovision Song Contest is regarded as the world's biggest televised live music event, drawing 131 million viewers in 2026. Over its more than 70-year history, it has helped launch the careers of international artistes such as Abba and Celine Dion.
Votes in the competition were divided equally between national juries and viewers, with participating countries not allowed to vote for their own entries.
