The Philippines announced as winner of inaugural Eurovision Song Contest Asia

Detailed summary

Carmelle Collado competed with the song Sobra-Sobra, which secured the most points from the public vote and jury of peers.

A Filipino teenager has won the first ever Eurovision Song Contest Asia with a song backing women’s empowerment.

Carmelle Collado, 19, took the title in Bangkok in a smaller version of the famous European extravaganza – which featured 11 acts.

Eurovision bosses launched the competition earlier this year aiming to “evolve Eurovision together with Asia”.

Eurovision previously tried to expand internationally with the American Song Contest, however, it only lasted one year amid poor viewing figures.

Collado’s song Sobra-Sobra, which mixes English and Tagalog, secured the most points from the public vote and jury of peers.

It has been described as a tribute to Filipino women and includes lyrics such as “When I show my strength too bad you can’t stop me” and “I won’t put myself down”.

The Philippines won the contest with 211 points, followed by Thailand with 170 and Vietnam with 164.

It was announced earlier this year that the Eurovision Song Contest would launch its first ever Asia edition, with broadcasters from 11 countries in the region including Vietnam, South Korea, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Mongolia, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Malaysia.

Many of the acts were already well-known, including actor, host, model and singer Beck – who represented Mongolia.

Opening of the article, excerpted from Evening Standard. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.