Eurovision Asia 2026: Meet The Philippines's CARMELLE
Flying the watawat ng Pilipinas at the inaugural Eurovision Song Contest Asia in Bangkok, Thailand will be CARMELLE with her song “Sobra-Sobra”.
You can find the details on the artist, the entry, and how the song was selected for the Contest below.
About the artist: CARMELLE
It’s hard to believe that CARMELLE is only 19 years old given what she has been able to achieve in such a short amount of time.
Hailing from the Bicol region of Luzon, CARMELLE attributes her singing to her mother’s side as her grandmother used to enter singing competitions. As a young girl, CARMELLE’s life was filled with music as it was a part of everyday family life, as well as using her voice for church and for choir.
CARMELLE first broke through in 2019 as a 12-year-old when she represented the Philippines at the World Championship of Performing Arts (WCOPA), winning seven gold medals. Later that year, she went on “The Voice Kids” where she came second.
However, it was in 2025 where CARMELLE truly came to prominence. Earlier in that year, she represented her high school in the long-standing Filipino singing competition show, Tawag ng Tanghalhan: The School Showdown, where she was crowned the Grand Champion. Later that year, she was reacquainted with mainstream Filipino audiences when she entered Pinoy Big Brother: Celebrity Collab Edition 2.0 where she finished ninth.
CARMELLE debuted her eponymous album earlier in 2026, months before she was selected to be one of the contestants in the inaugural Philippine national selection final, Philippine Selection Night.
Outside of music, CARMELLE also keeps busy: she has been a student leader, a majorette leader, volleyball player, and a church psalmist, while pursuing a Tourism degree at the University of Nueva Caceres.
In an interview with Rappler, CARMELLE shared her aspirations for what she wants the audience to take away from her performance in Eurovision Asia.
“The audience of Eurovision is huge. So, I want people to know me as someone from the Philippines who is talented. In one way or another, I also hope it opens doors for even more talented Filipino artists to be recognised, too.”
Image: Instagram - @carmelle_lite
About the song: “Sobra-Sobra”
“Sobra-Sobra” was written and composed by Nica Del Rosario and Mat Olivades, the writers behind two of the biggest Filipino-language hits, “Tala” by Sarah Geronimo and “Pantropiko” by BINI respectively.
In a news release before the final, ABS-CBN described the song as a “tribute to Filipinas… an empowering dance track that reminds women that they are never ‘too much’ or ‘not enough’, and that they have the freedom to embrace who they are and whoever they want to be”.
In an interview with Lifestyle.INQ, Del Rosario says while there is and should be no problem if women want to be traditional and demure,
“This song is about getting women’s power back and saying we can be whatever we want to be without being judged”.
This especially reigns true when the song references two iconic, yet contrasting, female figures from the Philippines.
María Clara is a character from José Rizal’s novel, Noli Me Tángere, a novel which is regarded as the cornerstone of Philippine literature, and the character is widely seen as the archetype of the traditional, demure, and obedient Filipina woman. On the other hand, Gabriela Silang was a revolutionary military leader who fought against Spanish colonial rule in the 18th century and is synonymous with bravery and defiance.
Therefore, in Filipino parlance, a “María Clara” means someone who is demure, while a “Gabriela” is loud and vocal.
Artistic representations of María Clara (left) and Gabriela Silang (right).
Images: Instagram - @sophialanhamart (left), @happylee_illustrator (right)
In “Sobra-Sobra” however, CARMELLE sings that Filipina women should not be confined to or compared to the rigid stereotypical contrast of a “María Clara” or a “Gabriela”; instead, she sings about empowering women to be whoever they want and choose to be and places her fury on those who are judging Filipina women since the people who judge are “the ones who are lacking”.
The lyrical theme of empowerment is matched by how the song sounds. Sonically, it is a combination of thumping dance-pop, reggaeton and trap-beats, and blending it with traditional Filipino instruments of the kulintang (a gong-chime instrument) and kubing (a traditional jaw harp). The sonic empowerment of “Sobra-Sobra” is so distinct that the song is the sound of the modern-day Philippines: a delicious fusion of Western and Filipino cultures, the modern melding with the traditional, with a booming and versatile singing and rapping voice, and a song that you can’t get out of your head.
How the song was selected:
In the lead-up to the inaugural Eurovision Song Contest Asia, the Philippine participating broadcaster, ABS-CBN, organised a national final to select its entry. The Philippine Selection Night was held on 30 August at the New Frontier Theatre in Quezon City, which featured ten competing artists and their respective songs. The song titles, the song writers, the performers, and the songs itself were progressively released throughout the fortnight before the Philippine national final.
Colloquially known as “Pili, Pinas!”, the winner of the Philippine national final was decided by a combination of a jury vote (40%) that consisted of Filipino entertainment industry figures, a Filipino public vote (40%), and an international public vote (20%).
In a stacked field of ten that featured former contestants and winners of Idol Philippines, The Voice, and The Voice Kids, as well as the nieces of Asia’s Songbird, Regine Velasquez-Alcasid, it was “Sobra Sobra” that became the winner of the inaugural Philippine national final.
We will see on November 14 to see how well CARMELLE will do or will it be “Sobra Sobra” at the One Bangkok Forum stage in Bangkok.
For continued updates on all the Eurovision Song Contest news follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Threads and TikTok. All links at: https://linktr.ee/aussievisionnet
