Shortly before launching the ABU Song Festival, the ABU had been considering the possibility to organize the "ABU ASEAN TV Song Festival" in Thailand. Historically, ASEAN song contests had been organized in periods between 1981 and 1997, however since 2011 the ASEAN Festival had been organized between local Radio stations as "Bintang Radio ASEAN". The ABU outlined a plan about a "television song festival" based on the style of the Eurovision Song Contest following the cancellation of "Our Sound". Kenny Kihyung Bae, chosen to the project manager, attended Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku, Azerbaijan to learn more about the contest before putting it to work.