Bhutan at Eurovision Asia 2026

The broadcaster

BBS — Bhutan Broadcasting Service — is Bhutan's national public broadcaster, and it ran the country's Eurovision Asia selection from its own studios in Thimphu.

How Rhythm of Bhutan worked

Rhythm of Bhutan aired on 11 August from BBS Studios in Thimphu, funded by Bhutan's Department of Media, Creative Industry and Intellectual Property. It was presented bilingually — Phub Tshering hosting in Dzongkha, Kelzang Dolkar in English — for five competing finalists.

The result was decided by a three-way split: 40% professional jury, 40% Bhutanese public vote, 20% Rest of the World vote. It remains the only national final in the contest to have published a full points breakdown — see our analysis of which broadcasters released their scores.

The winner: Nyendra

Thukten Nyendra, performing as Nyendra, is a 24-year-old singer-songwriter and producer who moved to Thimphu to pursue music. He writes and produces independently — in both English and Dzongkha — across pop, folk-pop, acoustic and R&B.

His winning song, "Lhayi Semo" (The Angel), was co-written with Lungten Wangchuk. It won with 52 points: first with the jury, second with the Bhutanese public, third internationally. Nyendra received a 200,000 Ngultrum prize. Read the full profile of Nyendra for more on his background and the song.

The rest of the field

Runner-up was Sangay Lhaden Band with "Pemi Tshewang Tashi" (41 points), followed by Baeyul301 with "Drenpa" (36 points), then Karma Drupchu and Pelden Wangchuk rounding out the five finalists.

The context: Druk Dra

All five Rhythm of Bhutan finalists had previously competed in Druk Dra, a 2025 Bhutanese selection programme that was pulled off air before its planned final — the contest it was selecting for hadn't been formally announced yet. Bhutan is the first country ever to select an entry for Eurovision Asia. The full story of that abandoned 2025 run is in our piece on the Druk Dra shutdown.