Philippines wins first Eurovision Song Contest Asia

Nineteen-year-old Carmelle won the inaugural Eurovision Song Contest Asia on Saturday in Bangkok, representing the Philippines. Performing the pop and rap track “Sobra-Sobra” (Too Much), she earned 211 points from both the public ballot and national juries. The song, which features the kubing and kulintang traditional instruments and is sung in Tagalog and English, was intended as a tribute to strong, independent Filipino women.

Thailand finished in second place with 179 points, followed by Vietnam's Tóc Tiên in third with 164 points. Malaysia and Laos also placed in the competition, while Nepal, Cambodia, and Bangladesh finished at the bottom of the points table. Eleven countries participated in the event held at the One Bangkok Forum.

This regional edition marks the first time the contest has been staged outside of Europe. The grand final, which included pyrotechnics and a mix of power ballads and pop-dance hits, ran for two and a half hours.

Brief written by urgent.news from Variety, Free Malaysia Today, ABC News AU, The Guardian, Gulf News — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.