// Workers AI · dad joke modeIs Philippines in Eurovision Asia a hit? It's a Manila-fact.
| Philippines in the Eurovision Song Contest Asia 2026 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eurovision Song Contest Asia 2026 | ||||
| Participating broadcaster | ABS-CBN | |||
| Country |  Philippines | |||
| Selection process | Philippine Selection Night | |||
| Selection date | 30 August 2026 | |||
| Competing entry | ||||
| Song | "Sobra-Sobra" | |||
| Artist | Carmelle | |||
| Songwriters |
| |||
| Participation chronology | ||||
| ||||
The Philippines is set to be represented at the Eurovision Song Contest Asia 2026 with the song "Sobra-Sobra" (pronounced [ˈsob.ɾɐ ˈsob.ɾɐ]; lit. "Too Much") written by Gianina Camille del Rosario and Mart Sam Emmanuel Olavides, and performed by Carmelle.[1] The Philippine participating broadcaster, ABS-CBN, organized a national final, titled the Philippine Selection Night, to select its entry for the contest.[2] The ten competing songs were revealed in August,[2] with "Sobra-Sobra" winning the national final held on 30 August 2026.[1][2]
Background
[edit]Our Sound – The Asia-Pacific Song Contest (2010)
[edit]Before the establishment of Eurovision Song Contest Asia, the Philippines was slated to participate in an earlier attempt at an Asia-Pacific spin-off of the Eurovision Song Contest. In September 2008, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) announced the sale of format rights for an Asian version of the contest. Originally titled the Asiavision Song Contest before being rebranded as Our Sound – The Asia-Pacific Song Contest,[3] the event was initially scheduled for late 2009. The Philippines was officially listed as one of the thirteen competing countries in the rescheduled March 2010 contest, planned to be held in Macau.
In preparation for the inaugural competition, the Philippine participating broadcaster, GMA, began organizing a national selection process. By November 2009, GMA had begun promoting the contest and encouraging local singers to apply through a segment of its Sunday noontime variety show, SOP Fully Charged. Despite these early preparations and further planned delays to relocate the event to Mumbai on 26–28 November 2010, the Our Sound project continued to face setbacks. The contest was ultimately postponed indefinitely in 2011 due to issues between the private organizers and the EBU, which halted the Philippines' regional début.[4]
Eurovision Song Contest Asia (2026)
[edit]On 31 March 2026, the EBU revealed that the Philippines, represented by ABS-CBN, would compete in the inaugural edition of the Eurovision Song Contest Asia.[5] On 17 May 2026, at an Eurovision Song Contest 2026 grand final live viewing party in Manila, Star Music Head Roxy Liquigan announced that ABS-CBN would hold a national selection in August 2026.[6] On 4 August, it was announced that the Philippine entry would be selected through the Philippine Selection Night on 30 August.[7]
Before Eurovision Asia
[edit]Philippine Selection Night
[edit]
The Philippine Selection Night, also known as Pili, Pinas!,[a] is a Philippine song competition organized by ABS-CBN to select its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest Asia 2026. The final took place on 30 August 2026 at the New Frontier Theater and featured 10 competing artists.[8] The winner was decided by a combination of Filipino jury vote (40%)—consisting of Nonoy Tan, Vina Morales, Angeline Quinto, Joane Laygo, Jed Madela, Choi Padilla, and Louie Ocampo—Filipino public vote (40%), and international public vote (20%).
Competing acts
[edit]On 10 August 2026, ABS-CBN announced the titles of their 10 songs for the contest, as well as their songwriters,[9] and revealed their performers on the following day.[10][11] Fifteen-second snippets of the songs were released on 12 August, and the full songs were released on 17 August.[9][8]
| Artist(s) | Song | Songwriter(s) |
|---|---|---|
| AJAA | "Make It Exist" |
|
| Carmelle | "Sobra-Sobra" |
|
| DNA | "Between Bituin" |
|
| Elha Nympha, Esang de Torres, Lance Reblando and Nar Cabico | "Cheri(e)" |
|
| Jason Dy and Sassa Dagdag | "Di Yan (Red Flag)" |
|
| JM Dela Cerna and Marielle Montellano | "Mapadama" |
|
| Khimo | "Reason to Live" |
|
| Ryssi Avila | "Good for You" |
|
| Saga | "Broken Beyond Repair" |
|
| Vvink feat. Wrive Russu | "Round n' Round" |
|
Final
[edit]The final took place on 30 August 2026 at 21:45 PhST at the New Frontier Theater in Quezon City,[12] and was hosted by Vice Ganda, Darren Espanto and Alexa Ilacad.[13] The competition was broadcast live on Kapamilya Channel, All TV, A2Z and The Filipino Channel (with a delayed telecast on Myx), and streamed online on iWant, Kapamilya Online Live (through Facebook and YouTube) and the official Eurovision Song Contest YouTube channel.[14]
In addition to the competing acts, the contest was opened by the hosts, Klarisse de Guzman, Lyka Estrella, Bryan Chong, Reiven Umali, Ian Manibale, Miah and Azter performing a common song for the contest, "Mabuhay ang Musikang Pilipino" (transl. Long Live Philippine Music). During the show, Eurovision Song Contest 2025 winner JJ appeared in a video message. The Eurovision Song Contest YouTube stream experienced technical difficulties during the first half of the performing acts, with the stream freezing at intervals.[15][16]
| R/O | Artist | Song | Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DNA | "Between Bituin" | |
| 2 | AJAA | "Make It Exist" | |
| 3 | Jason Dy and Sassa Dagdag | "Di Yan (Red Flag)" | |
| 4 | JM Dela Cerna and Marielle Montellano | "Mapadama" | 3 |
| 5 | Vvink feat. Wrive Russu | "Round n' Round" | |
| 6 | Saga | "Broken Beyond Repair" | 2 |
| 7 | Ryssi Avila | "Good for You" | |
| 8 | Elha Nympha, Esang de Torres, Lance Reblando and Nar Cabico | "Cheri(e)" | |
| 9 | Carmelle | "Sobra-Sobra" | 1 |
| 10 | Khimo | "Reason to Live" |
Participation overview
[edit]| † | Upcoming event |
| Year | Artist | Song | Language | Final | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Carmelle | "Sobra-Sobra" | English, Tagalog | Upcoming †[17] | |
Notes
[edit]- ↑ Tagalog: [ˈpiː.lɪʔ pɪˈn̪as]; transl. Choose, Philippines!
References
[edit]- 1 2 Songco, Pauline (31 August 2026). "Philippines Picks 'Sobra-Sobra' as Its First Eurovision Asia Entry". Daily Tribune. Archived from the original on 30 August 2026. Retrieved 30 August 2026.
- 1 2 3 Manuel, Andrea (12 August 2026). "AJAA, Vvink, DNA, and Wrive Are Among the Filipino Acts Participating at Philippine Selection Night 2026". Billboard Philippines. Archived from the original on 30 August 2026. Retrieved 30 August 2026.
- ↑ Mikheev, Andy (16 August 2012). "Participants - ABU TV and Radio Song Festivals 2012". escKaz.com. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
- ↑ Mikheev, Andy (16 August 2012). "Our Sound - The Asia-Pacific Song Contest". ESCKAZ.com. Archived from the original on 26 October 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
- ↑ Granger, Anthony (31 March 2026). "Eurovision Song Contest Asia Launches With Final in Bangkok This November". Eurovoix.com. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
- ↑ Cua, Aric John (18 May 2026). "PH national finals for Eurovision Asia confirmed". Manila Times. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "National Selection Show calendar takes shape for Eurovision Asia". Eurovision Song Contest Asia. 2 August 2026. Retrieved 4 August 2026.
- 1 2 ABS-CBN PR [@ABSCBNpr] (12 August 2026). "Catch these 10 tracks from Pili, Pinas!: Philippine Selection Night 2026, dropping this August 17" (Tweet). Retrieved 13 August 2026 – via X (formerly Twitter).
- 1 2 3 ABS-CBN News (10 August 2026). "Pili, Pinas! Here are the 10 tracks proudly representing the Philippines in this iconic global stage". Facebook. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
- 1 2 @starmusicph; (11 August 2026). "Handa ka na bang pumili, Pilipinas? Meet the voices bringing life to our 10 entries for Eurovision Song Contest Asia 🇵🇭! 🌏🎶". Retrieved 11 August 2026 – via Instagram.
- 1 2 3 Farren, Neil (11 August 2026). "Philippines: Philippine Selection Night Artists Revealed". Eurovoix.com. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
- ↑ Exclusive Listening for the Philippine Selection Night. Retrieved 19 August 2026 – via YouTube.
- ↑ Grace, Emily (17 August 2026). "Philippines: Philippine Selection Night Songs Released". Eurovoix.com. Retrieved 17 August 2026.
- ↑ Aguja, Januar Junior (19 August 2026). "Philippine qualifiers put own twist on Eurovision". The Freeman. Retrieved 21 August 2026.
- ↑ Ljuština, Stevan (30 August 2026). "Azija 2026 | Carmelle za Filipine!". Evrovizija.rs (in rs-Latn). Retrieved 30 August 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ↑ JJ offers message to Philippine Selection Night finalists. Retrieved 16 September 2026 – via YouTube.
- ↑ "PH to compete in debut of Eurovision Song Contest Asia". ABS-CBN. 1 April 2026. Retrieved 12 April 2026.