BANGKOK (The Thursday Times) — Filipino singer Carmelle won the first Eurovision Song Contest Asia in Bangkok on Saturday night with “Sobra-Sobra”, a dance-pop anthem about women’s empowerment, beating acts from 10 other countries.
The 19-year-old, the youngest performer in the contest, scored 211 points: 93 from the national juries and 118 from the public vote. Thailand’s MANG x DAOU came second with 170 points for “Aroma”, and Vietnam’s Tóc Tiên was third with 164 for “EM TIÊN”.
“I made history, since this was the first time,” Carmelle said after her win, describing the song as a tribute to all Filipino women. “It’s such a big responsibility for me, because this one is a global stage, so thank you everybody who voted for me.”
Malaysia’s Aina Abdul finished fourth with the ballad “Bluest Sky”, and Laos’s Thinla was fifth with “Bae”, which she sang in a traditional Lao hilltribe outfit. A technical fault meant the Laotian song’s music video played again during the broadcast, making it the last song the audience heard before the vote.
Bangladesh’s Beatmosphere dropped the usual backing track and used their voices to recreate the drums and basslines. Bhutan, South Korea, Mongolia, Nepal, and Cambodia also took part in the 11-country final. Pakistan did not compete.
Tuk-tuks and a European champion
The voting worked much as it does in Europe, with the public vote counting for half of the result and juries from the 11 countries for the other half, plus extra points from a rest-of-the-world vote.
Contestants arrived on stage aboard tuk-tuks, waving their national flags as thousands of fans cheered. Bulgaria’s Dara, who won the 70th Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna this year with “Bangaranga”, performed and handed Carmelle the trophy. Thai star Jeff Satur also sang.
Eurovision historian Dean Vuletic, who attended the show, said the Asian contest seemed less overshadowed by politics than the European one, where five longtime members boycotted this year’s edition over Israel’s participation. “It was a very beautiful atmosphere inside the venue and it was a great window into the musical cultures of Asia,” he said.
An Asian Eurovision had been talked about for decades before Saturday’s debut. The arena was crowded but not full, and many in the audience were fans of the European contest from other parts of the world. India, China, Japan, and Indonesia stayed out of the first edition, though talks are under way to bring them in next year, and it is not yet clear how far regional broadcasters will commit to keeping the contest going.
