Quick Facts
Name: Carmelle Allyza San Juan Collado
Stage Name: Carmelle
Also Known As: The New Gen Pop Diva
Birthdate: July 16, 2007
Birthplace: Sipocot, Camarines Sur
Current Base: Camarines Sur / Metro Manila
Status: Active
Genre: Pop, Dance-pop
Languages: Filipino, English
Years Active: 2019 – present
Labels | Management:
- Star Music (2025 – present)
- Star Magic / Polaris (management)
Photo: CARMELLE – “Morena” (Official Music Video)
About Carmelle
A Singing Kid from Sipocot
Carmelle Allyza San Juan Collado, an only child, was born on July 16, 2007 in Sipocot, Camarines Sur. She grew up in a family of singers, so music was practically part of the household furniture.
Her Bicol upbringing kept her grounded and busy. She sang as a church psalmist for diocesan services, took the stage as a dancer and majorette, and carried herself as a student leader, later graduating with honors from King Thomas Learning Academy before pursuing a Tourism degree at the University of Nueva Caceres.
The talent showed early. In 2019, at just 12 years old, she flew to Long Beach, California for the World Championships of Performing Arts and came home with seven gold medals. That same year, Filipino audiences met her on “The Voice Kids Philippines” season 4, where she joined Bamboo Mañalac’s team and finished as first runner-up.
Then the momentum stalled. As she later explained, “Noong nag-pandemic, tumigil ang pasok ng trabaho kaya naman pinili ko munang mag-focus sa pag-aaral. Ang Tawag ng Tanghalan ang nagbigay sa akin ng second chance para ipagpatuloy ang aking pangarap.” (When the pandemic hit, work dried up, so I chose to focus on my studies for a while. Tawag ng Tanghalan was what gave me a second chance to keep chasing my dream.)
Grand Champion of Tawag ng Tanghalan
That second chance became the turning point of her career. In January 2025, Carmelle was crowned the first-ever grand champion of “Tawag ng Tanghalan: The School Showdown,” the youth edition of the long-running “It’s Showtime” singing tilt, sealing the title with a 98 percent judges’ score and a standing ovation. She joined the ranks of TNT champions like Janine Berdin.
The win came with a one-million-peso prize, and Carmelle set aside part of it to help her flood-prone Bicol hometown. Nicknamed the “Riles Diva ng Camarines Sur,” (riles translates to “train tracks”) she quickly became a regular on the “ASAP” stage after signing with Star Magic.
Bigger stages followed fast: a homecoming reunion with her old coach Bamboo on “ASAP,” a first international booking in Saudi Arabia, and her UK debut at ASAP Live in Birmingham. She also shared the bill with heavyweights like Jed Madela and Bituin Escalante at the 2025 BRAVO concert, and spent late 2025 as a housemate on “Pinoy Big Brother: Celebrity Collab Edition 2.0,” where she lasted until Day 120.
The New Gen Pop Diva
In 2026, Carmelle stepped fully into her own as a recording artist. Her first original solo single, “Morena,” arrived on May 26, 2026 under Star Music: a proudly danceable anthem to morena beauty and self-love, written and produced by hitmaker Jonathan Manalo with co-writers Jeremy G and the WRIVE team.
Star Music began billing her as “The New Gen Pop Diva,” and the releases kept coming, including the singles “Stay” and “Unti-Unti” and a self-titled debut album. She folded collaboration into the run too, teaming up with “The Voice” US season 26 winner Sofronio Vasquez on a rendition of the OPM classic “Maalaala Mo Kaya.”
Making History at Eurovision Asia
Carmelle’s biggest moment yet arrived on August 30, 2026 at the New Frontier Theater. Competing against nine other acts on “Pili, Pinas!,” the Eurovision Song Contest Asia Philippine Selection Night hosted by Vice Ganda, she won with “Sobra-Sobra,” edging out SAGA’s “Broken Beyond Repair” and “Mapadama.”
The verdict came from a blend of a professional jury (40 percent), the Philippine public (40 percent), and voters from the rest of the world (20 percent), with a jury bench that featured Louie Ocampo, Jed Madela, Vina Morales, and Angeline Quinto.
“Sobra-Sobra,” written by Nica del Rosario and Mat Olavides, is a women’s empowerment anthem that fuses modern pop and rap with traditional Filipino sounds, weaving in instruments like the kubing and kulintang. With it, Carmelle became the very first artist to represent the Philippines at Eurovision Song Contest Asia, whose inaugural grand final is set for November 14, 2026 in Bangkok, Thailand.
Videos
Albums
- CARMELLE (2026)
Singles
- Unti-Unti (2025)
- Morena (2026)
- Stay (2026)
- Sobra-Sobra (2026)
Song Collaborations
- Maalaala Mo Kaya (Sofronio Vasquez – 2025)
TV
- The Voice Kids Philippines, Season 4 (2019)
- Tawag ng Tanghalan: The School Showdown, It’s Showtime (2024–2025)
- ASAP (2025–present)
- Pinoy Big Brother: Celebrity Collab Edition 2.0 (2025)
- Pili, Pinas!: Eurovision Song Contest Asia Philippine Selection Night (2026)
Awards
World Championships of Performing Arts
- Seven Gold Medals (2019)
It’s Showtime
- Tawag ng Tanghalan: The School Showdown, Grand Champion (2025)
Eurovision Song Contest Asia
- Philippine Selection Night Winner and Philippine Representative (2026)
Perspective
There is a fearlessness in Carmelle that belies how young she is. She can pour a lifetime of ache into a ballad one minute and command a full-tilt pop anthem the next, and she does it with the poise of someone who has been singing in church and on competition stages since childhood. Cue up “Sobra-Sobra” and you can hear it: a Bicolana kid who decided the whole of Asia was hers to sing to.
Praise for the Artist
Today’s fans aren’t just drawn to outward appearance; they champion artists who reflect their values and offer a genuine sense of reliability, especially through music. With her latest single, “Morena,” Carmelle does exactly that, proudly raising the flag for Filipina women everywhere.
– Arci Claveria
Young Diva Carmelle Collado Is Setting The Bar For New Morena Beauties
METRO.STYLE
Singing her winning entry, “Sobra Sobra,” during the Philippine Selection Night on Sunday, August 30, at the New Frontier Theatre, Collado made a mark on viewers with her strong vocal performance and stage presence.
– Januar Junior Aguja
‘TNT’ winner Carmelle to represent Philippines in 1st Eurovision Asia
The Freeman
Contact
Bookings
Listen
Apple Music
On Instagram
Trivia
- Her mother doubles as her vocal coach, and says Carmelle’s talent was obvious by the time she was three years old.
- Her Tawag ng Tanghalan-winning finale was a medley of Aretha Franklin classics, “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” “Chain of Fools,” and “Ain’t No Way,” that drew a standing ovation from the judges.
- Her “Pinoy Big Brother” run sparked a fan-favorite loveteam with fellow housemate Anton Vinzon, affectionately dubbed “CarTon.”
- Her fans are called Carmellites.
- Her Eurovision Asia entry “Sobra-Sobra” leans into Filipino heritage, layering traditional instruments like the kubing and kulintang under a modern pop-and-rap arrangement.
- She has openly named BINI and Sarah Geronimo among the artists she dreams of sharing a stage with someday.
Posted: September 12, 2026