Druk Dra

Last updated

Druk Dra 2025
Dates and venue
Qualification round 1
  • 19 August 2025 (2025-08-19)
Qualification round 2
  • 20 August 2025 (2025-08-20)
Qualification round 3
  • 22 August 2025 (2025-08-22)
Semi-final
  • 26 August 2025 (2025-08-26)
Final
  • 29 August 2025 (2025-08-29) (cancelled)
VenueBBS Studio, Thimphu, Bhutan
Organisation
Organiser Bhutan Broadcasting Service (BBS)
Presenters
  • Kelzang Dolkar
  • Wangchuk Dem
Participants
Number of entries10
Number of finalists5
Vote
Voting systemA combination of jury and online vote
Druk Dra

Druk Dra, [a] also known as Road to Eurovision Asia, is a Bhutanese contest organised to decide the country's representatives at the Eurovision Asia Song Contest 2026 and ABU TV Song Festival 2025. On 28 August 2025, Martin Green, Director of the Eurovision Song Contest, stated that there are no plans for the contest in Asia. Additionally, he confirmed that the Bhutanese contest has been taken off air and deleted from online platforms.

Contents

Production and format

The contest is organised by the Bhutan Broadcasting Service and consists of 5 episodes. The first three episodes were qualification rounds, the fourth was the semi-final, and the fifth is the final. [1] The show is presented in Dzongkha and English interchangeably.[ citation needed ]

The results of the contest are decided by a combination of the votes from the professional jury, as well as an online vote. The jury is consisted of Pema Samdrup, Choeying Gyatsho and Uygen Dorji. [1]

Contest overview

A total of 10 contestants took part in the contest.

First and second episodes

The first episode aired on 19 August 2025, and second on 20 August 2025. The contestants performed covers.

Episodes 1 and 2
Draw (Ep 1)Draw (Ep 2)ArtistOnline vote
110Baeyul 30164.37%
21Sangay Lhaden1.28%
38Nyendra0%
43Pelden Wangchuk8.51%
56Tashi Choden0.85%
62Tshering Namgay19.83%
79Tandih Phub3.83%
87Kinga Rinchen0.09%
95Drukbi Tshompapo0.85%
104Karma Drubchu0%

Third episode

The third episode aired on 22 August 2025. The contestants performed covers. 90% of the result was determined by the jury, with 10% decided by an online vote. Drukbi Tshompapo withdrew from the contest before the episode due to personal reasons.[ citation needed ] Seven contestants qualified for the semi-final. [1]

Episode 3
DrawArtistResult
1Sangay LhadenQualified
2Tshering NamgayQualified
3Pelden WangchukQualified
4Karma DrubchuQualified
5Drukbi TshompapoWithdrew
6Tashi ChodenQualified
7Kinga RinchenEliminated
8NyendraQualified
9Tandih PhubEliminated
10Baeyul 301Qualified

Fourth episode

The fourth episode aired on 26 August 2025. This episode is considered the semi-final, and the contestants performed covers. 80% of the result was determined by the jury, with 20% decided by an online vote, [1] including the votes from the previous shows. Each juror gave a rating to every contestant out of 100.[ citation needed ] Five contestants qualified for the final. [1]

Episode 4 [1]
DrawArtistJuryEpisode 4
online vote
Result
1Sangay Lhaden25920.09%Qualified
2Nyendra25817.38%Qualified
3Baeyul 30124316.99%Qualified
4Karma Drubchu17312.10%Eliminated
5Tshering Namgay16611.17%Qualified
6Pelden Wangchuk16811.36%Qualified
7Tashi Choden15810.92%Eliminated

Fifth episode

The fifth episode was set to be held on 29 August 2025. This episode was supposed to be the final. 70% of the result was set to be determined by the jury, with 30% decided by an online vote. [1] The winner was to represent Bhutan at the Eurovision Asia Song Contest 2026, with the runner up representing Bhutan at ABU TV Song Festival 2025. [1]

Cancellation

On 28 August 2025, Martin Green CBE, Director of the Eurovision Song Contest, stated that "no plans have been confirmed or announced to date" for the contest in Asia. Green also confirmed that the Eurovision format rights holders in Asia have spoken to BBS, and the show has been taken off air and deleted from online platforms. [2] Sangay Lhaden, one of the finalists, claimed on TikTok that the final was only postponed.[ citation needed ]

Notes

  1. Dzongkha: འབྲུག་སྒྲ།, romanized: 'Brug Sgra, [ʈuk̚˩ʈ͡ʂa˩˨]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Granger, Anthony (26 August 2025). "Bhutan: Druk Dra Semi-Final Held". Eurovoix World. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
  2. "EBU shuts down Eurovision Asia speculation". The Eurotrip Podcast. 28 August 2025. Archived from the original on 28 August 2025. Retrieved 28 August 2025.