Song contest history was made on Saturday in Bangkok as nineteen-year-old singer Carmelle won the inaugural Eurovision Song Contest Asia.
Eleven nations sent representatives to the final in the Thai capital, where viewers across 183 countries and territories followed the broadcast, according to Het Nieuwsblad. Carmelle Allyza San Juan Collado clinched the title with 211 points. She finished 41 points ahead of runner-up Thailand, represented by the duo MANG x DAOU, while Vietnamese singer Tóc Tiên took third place, The Newsblad reported.
The winning track, "Leftovers"—which translates literally to "too much"—addresses the prejudices frequently faced by women. The song combines English and Tagalog lyrics with traditional Filipino kulingtan gong percussion.
“’Sobra’ is a song that could have easily entered the real Eurovision Song Contest,” Jonathan Hendrickx, manager of the Belgian fan site Songfestival.be, told The Standard during a taxi ride from the One Bangkok Arena to his hotel. Hendrickx attended the event live in Thailand.
Carmelle secured her victory by winning over both the professional juries and the public televote. Her performance featured two backup dancers and stage fireworks, which Hendrickx described to The Standard as vintage Eurovision staging.
“The entry from the Philippines stood head and shoulders above the rest,” Hendrickx told The Standard. “The song and the act were cliché, but done by the book and solidly delivered.”
For the teenage artist, the win marks the highest point of a fast-moving career. Carmelle previously placed second in the Philippine edition of The Voice Kids and won the Call of Duty singing competition, The Newsblad reported.
“This is a large responsibility for me, because this is a global stage,” Carmelle told the Associated Press, as noted by The Newsblad.
The European Broadcasting Union did not organize the expansion. Instead, the Swedish entertainment company Voxovation—which owns the global exploitation rights to the Eurovision brand—produced the event, The Standard reported. Voxovation previously attempted to launch a United States version in 2022 featuring different states competing against each other, which The Standard described as a major flop.
The successful launch in Bangkok happened because a major commercial broadcaster in Thailand backed the project, according to The Standard. Hendrickx said that the event serves primarily to generate revenue.
“The event in Thailand must above all bring in money,” Hendrickx told The Standard. He explained that running the European contest costs roughly 20 million euros, and the European Broadcasting Union needs fresh revenue streams as funding costs rise and major financial contributors sit out.
Organizers are awaiting final viewing figures and voting data to determine whether the regional spin-off has a long-term future, according to The Standard. China and Japan did not participate in the inaugural event but have expressed interest, leaving open the possibility of their inclusion in subsequent years, The Standard reported.
“The second edition will show whether there is a future in it,” Hendrickx told The Standard.
Related reading