Eurovision Asia 2026: Meet Thailand's MANG x DAOU
Written by Michael Montenegro
Thailand has selected its first representatives for the Eurovision Song Contest Asia, with soulful duo MANG x DAOU set to represent their country before a home audience in Bangkok.
But how did these two artists come together, and what will they bring to Eurovision Asia?
Read on to find out everything we know about MANG x DAOU and their song for Bangkok, Aroma!
About the artists: MANG x DAOU
The two parts of Thailand's act for Eurovision Asia 2026 have pursued very different paths through the Thai music industry.
Mang began pursuing a music career at a young age, working towards a place in Thailand’s T-pop industry, where idol-style training and performance are prominent. After auditioning for The Voice Kids Thailand Season 2 and later participating in The Voice Thailand Season 6, she approached Thai record label LIT Entertainment, submitting 30 videos of herself singing in an effort to secure an opportunity.
In April 2021, she debuted as a member of the group bamm. The group occasionally incorporated regional Thai influences into its music, including a song featuring dialects from all four regions of Thailand.
In 2024, Mang then became LIT Entertainment’s first female solo artist. Her solo debut, Stay Strong, also featured her contributions to the lyrics and melody. She subsequently released MANGO, a project reflecting her musical identity and interest in Thai cultural influences.
Daou’s musical background started through performances with his family’s Chinese opera troupe. Although the family frequently faced financial difficulties, Daou has described his childhood as an important influence on his character. Life with the troupe taught him to interact with people from different backgrounds and introduced him to luk thung, a form of Thai country music, as well as music from Isan, Thailand’s northeastern region.
Daou followed a different career path, moving from televised singing competitions into idol music and acting. He appeared on I Can See Your Voice Thailand and auditioned for La Banda Thailand Season 2 before joining the idol competition LAZ iCON, where he received the highest number of votes (3,969,473). This led to him subsequently debuting as a member of the boy group LAZ1.
His career later expanded into television drama, with leading roles in Love in Translation (2023), Century of Love (2024) and The Wicked Game (2025). Daou also established an acting partnership with fellow LAZ1 member Offroad Kantapon Jindataweephol, with whom he has starred as a romantic lead in various Thai Boys’ Love (BL) dramas, a popular television genre centred on romantic relationships between male characters.
Daou initially declined the opportunity to participate in Eurovision Asia. In an interview with Eurovision Asia host Woody Milintachinda, he explained that he had grown tired of competitions. However, the prospect of working with Mang, whom he had known since university, eventually persuaded him to reconsider.
About the song: Aroma
Mang and Daou combine their musical backgrounds in Aroma, a song centred on longing that blends Thai musical influences with contemporary T-pop.
Its Thai title, กลิ่นราตรี (Glin Ratree), evokes the fragrance of the night. The ratree is a flower known for releasing its scent after dark, providing the central image for a song about memory and the absence of someone important.
The song uses Thai language, floral imagery and fragrance to express the familiar emotion of missing someone. These elements give its contemporary pop arrangement a distinctly Thai cultural character.
Mang has explained that she and Daou deliberately incorporated numerous Thai elements into Aroma. She hopes the performance will encourage audiences from other countries to learn more about Thailand and has described the opportunity as one of the most significant experiences of her life.
Daou shares this objective, noting that Thai culture encompasses many different traditions and influences. With Thailand hosting the inaugural competition, he hopes their performance will offer audiences an unexpected and memorable presentation of the country’s cultural identity.
LIT Entertainment released the studio version of Aroma on 28 September, one day after the national final.
How were MANG x DAOU selected for Eurovision Asia 2026?
Thailand selected its representatives through a televised national competition titled Thailand’s Chosen One.
Channel 3 introduced the competition in August during a press event at Siam Paragon, where the ten participating artists were announced. The final took place on 27 September at Centerpoint Studio in Bangkok and was broadcast live on Channel 3 and its 3Plus streaming platform.
The results combined evaluations from a five-member jury with votes from Thai and international audiences. The jury accounted for 40% of the final score, Thai viewers for another 40%, and international viewers for the remaining 20%. Rock singer Sek Loso appeared as a special guest performer.
The selection featured a distinctive performance format known as a “Live MV,” or live music video. Each act presented its song through an individually developed concept incorporating visual design, lighting, sound, staging and direction.
As the complete songs had not been released beforehand, viewers heard each entry in full for the first time during the final, together with its visual presentation.
This format placed considerable emphasis on the overall performance, requiring contestants to communicate both the musical and visual identity of their entries during a single live broadcast.
With MANG x DAOU coming out on top, they will now be preparing to make their appearance at the inaugural Eurovision Song Contest Asia on 14 November 2026 in Bangkok.
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