Nineteen-year-old singer Carmelle won the first Asian Song Contest in Bangkok with 211 points on Nov. 14, 2026, finishing 41 points ahead of runner-up Thailand, De Standaard reported.
The competition took place at the One Bangkok Arena, where eleven countries sent representatives to the final, which could be followed by viewers in 183 countries and territories.
Gastland Thailand finished second with the duo MANG x DAOU, and Vietnamese singer Tóc Tiên took third place. “Sobra-Sobra”, meaning literally “too much”, addresses prejudices faced by women and serves as a tribute to Philippine women.
For the 19-year-old singer, who was previously a finalist in the Philippine edition of The Voice Kids and also won the singing competition Tawag ng Tanghalan, the victory marks the provisional peak of a lightning career.
“Dit is een grote verantwoordelijkheid voor mij, omdat dit een wereldwijd podium is”, zei ze na haar overwinning aan persagentschap AP.
The new contest was organized by the Swedish entertainment company Voxovation, which holds the global exploitation rights to the Eurovision brand, alongside Thailand’s major commercial broadcaster. Jonathan Hendrickx, manager of the Belgian fan site Songfestival.be who was present at the event in Bangkok, noted that the winning Philippine entry featured powerful female vocals combined with the traditional Philippine gong instrument, the kulintang, alongside two dancers and firework effects.
“Met twee danseressen en vuurwerkeffecten op het podium kun je ook zeggen dat de act vintage Eurovision was”, vindt Hendrickx.
According to Hendrickx, the event remains largely a European affair involving European media and vacationers, with a venue that was cozy rather than full. Voxovation previously attempted a United States song contest in 2022 that resulted in a massive flop, and subsequently pursued vague plans in Latin America and the Arab world before succeeding in Asia.
The European Broadcasting Union, which is not the organizer, requires such exploitations to generate revenue to make the European Song Contest more affordable amid rising costs—such as an organization cost of around 20 million euros—and the loss of sponsors and participating countries, including important financial backers like Spain and the Netherlands not participating next year and the search for a new main sponsor after Morrocanoil (an Israeli cosmetics company dragged into the controversy surrounding Israel’s participation) canceled its deal.
“Tweede editie zal uitwijzen of er een toekomst in zit”, vertelde Jonathan Hendrickx.
Keep reading