Eurovision Asia 2026: Bar Singer, K-Pop Veteran Among 11 Acts
Eurovision's first Asian edition arrives in Bangkok next week with 11 acts. They include a 24-year-old bar singer from Bhutan who has never flown, and a 32-year-old K-pop veteran from South Korea who wants to be the contest's first Asian winner.
Eleven acts will compete in Bangkok next week in the first Asian edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, among them a bar singer from Bhutan and a K-pop veteran from Seoul.
Organizers hope for the fanfare the contest brings in Europe. Countries are backing their acts, especially on social media. But much of the region is still getting to know the format, and Asia has no fanbases like those built in Europe over seven decades.
Many of the singers had never heard of the contest before they were picked.
Nyendra, Bhutan
Nyendra, 24, learned of Eurovision a year ago when a friend rang to ask if he was entering. He searched for it online. "I learned about how countries were united with the help of songs in Europe," he says.
After winning Bhutan's national selection, he applied for his first passport. "I've never actually stepped on a plane before. Forget about the plane. I've never been on a train before!" he says.
His song, Lhayi Semo, means roughly "the angel" and is sung in Dzongkha, Bhutan's national language. He describes it as a sad love song about longing for someone you have never seen but believe is listening.
Nyendra grew up in a southern border town and moved to the capital, Thimphu, to study at 19. For five years he has paid his way by singing in bars and restaurants there, mostly acoustic pop covers and ballads rather than his own songs. Some nights, people "wouldn't even want to listen".
His family doubted him when he chose music over steadier work. When the national final aired in August, his grandparents watched at home, and an uncle "was jumping and kissing the screen".
He says he knows how hard such a chance is to come by for a country of 800,000 people.
Junhee, South Korea
Junhee, 32, debuted in 2017 as leader of the five-member group A.C.E. He now records solo on his own label.
His entry, Deep Dive, began as a loose demo unconnected to the contest and was rebuilt so heavily he calls it almost a remake. He describes it as progressive EDM, with a mid-song tempo change into hip-hop rap and then some R&B singing. "It's a real hybrid," he says.
AleXa, who won the American Song Contest, co-wrote the lyrics. That was the US version of the format, which ran for a single series in 2022 and was not renewed.
Used to bigger, longer productions, Junhee found the three-minute limit and the cap on performers the hardest part. "There's so much I want to show," he says.
He also reasoned that a singer representing Korea would be expected to deliver K-pop. "So, among all these contestants, what's the thing I do best? K-pop."
The line-up also includes a 19-year-old Filipina who grew up singing beside railway tracks.
