Tommy Cash Eurovision 2025: Between clever provocation and creative buzz with 'Espresso Macchiato
Every year Eurovision has its surprises in store, and often a UFO (Unidentified Festival Object) stands out from the crowd. This year it's Estonia's participation that's got everyone talking (a lot), with Tommy Cash and its " Espresso Macchiato" . Somewhere between absurdist satire and hyper-mastered performance, he turns codes on their head with an act that seems to both celebrate and mock Italian clichés.
Espresso Macchiato Is this an act of gratuitous provocation by a Tommy Cash simply looking for a buzz, or is it all a kind of creative delirium? Dive into the world of an artist as fascinating as he is disconcerting.
Tommy Cash: artist, troll, or both?
Tommy Cash is unlike any other rapper. That's what makes him so successful. Born in 1991 in a poor district of Tallinn, Estonia, he grew up where art and culture were far from priorities. However, he developed a passion for street art and freestyle dance at an early age, which shaped his approach to rap. Inspired as much by Kanye West as by Alejandro Jodorowsky, the multidisciplinary artist and master of surrealism, he developed a unique style that he describes as "post-Soviet rap".
Visually, Tommy Cash is an enigma, sometimes in a white fur coat, sometimes in a floral dress with massive boots, oscillating between provocation and self-mockery. His music videos are surreal works of art, combining grotesque aesthetics, pop references and absurd staging, often verging on the malaise and the genius. He leaves no one indifferent.
Trap, bass music, eurodance, Tommy Cash blurs the boundaries between seriousness and parody, delivering tracks that are completely off the wall, then surprising with ultra-mastered production. This blend of irony and artistic efficiency makes him a veritable E.T. (Eccentric Talent) on today's music scene, a figure who destabilises as much as he fascinates.
Espresso Macchiato between joke entry and stroke of genius
His song Espresso Macchiato was therefore selected during theEesti Laulthe show that chooses Estonia's representative at Eurovision. Tommy Cash had been the favourite to win ever since he announced his participation and posted his video clip online. Fixed sequence shot showing him having a coffee for 3 minutes. Minimalist image, with no spectacular movement. No complex visual effects. All these choices are deliberate. Welcome to the world and aesthetics of Tommy Cash, where the absurd and the offbeat are accentuated, where the ordinary becomes bizarre through the interpretation of a character who seems to make fun of everything, including the very idea of a music video.
As for his live performance at Eesti Laul... we didn't know what to expect, but Tommy Cash immediately set the bar very high. Dressed in a tailor-made suit, with a tie that went down to his knees and a yellow post-it note on his chest that read "I love Eurovision".
Despite this apparent nonchalance, make no mistake. The performance is professional and meticulous, the choreography is meticulously executed and everything is impeccably orchestrated. It has to be said that he had plenty of inspiration. One of the composers ofEspresso Macchiato is none other than Johannes Naukkarinen, the man behind the famous Cha-cha-cha from Käärijä (Finland 2023) who finished second to Loreenbut certainly first in the hearts of the public.
From kawa to drama, beyond the controversy of Espresso Macchiato in Italy
As a Eurovision season without its drama would not really be a successful Eurovision season, theEspresso Macchiato by Tommy Cash quickly sent shockwaves beyond Estonia, with lyrics that were particularly talked about in Italy!
The song plays with strong stereotypes, bordering on the absurd, associated with a traditional and superficial Italy: coffee, pizza, the mafia, exuberance, all in appoximative Italian mixed with English and Spanish (" Mi like mi coffè very importante" , " Mi money numeroso, I work around the clocko, That's why I'm sweating like a mafioso, "). Even if the majority were amused by this and saw it as an offbeat tribute to Italy, it was enough for some to see it as an attack on their country and an instrumentalisation of their culture to create a buzz at their expense.
But beyond this controversy, which is provoking a reaction from some people (the same people who, in any case, don't appreciate second-degree humour, derision or Eurovision), we can ask ourselves whether, in 2025, winning Eurovision means coming on stage with a song AND creating a buzz.
Tommy Cash, a professional provocateur?
His "I love Eurovision" post-it note during his performance at Eesti Laul seemed to lay the foundations right from the start. But perhaps it's also his recent collaboration with his mate Joost Klein (Netherlands 2024) on the track "United by Music" (Eurovision's timeless new slogan). In a duet with Tommy, Joost Klein doesn't hesitate to rap about his dissatisfaction with Eurovision and its organisation: " Fuck the EBU, I don't want to go to court" . Remember, he was eliminated last year for inappropriate behaviour towards Eurovision staff. He was cleared a few weeks later. A feat of highly questionable musical quality, but one that sums up the state of mind of certain artists with regard to the contest and its stakes?
Doesn't the collaboration between Tommy Cash and Joost Klein on 'United by Music', and the close relationship between them and Käärijä, symbolise what Eurovision seems to be heading towards? A contest where the buzz of the joke entries takes precedence over the music itself? Or are the artists sent to Eurovision just a mirror reflecting the public's mood towards the contest? Apart from the fact that this year Tommy Cash has set the bar very, very high, it's a development to be watched closely, as it necessarily raises questions about the future of the contest.
Tommy Cash, a breath of fresh air in an overly formatted Eurovision?
Beyond these debates on a style that is not unanimously supported, it is clear that these artists are finding a real echo with the public. Joost Klein, Käärijäand now Tommy Cash Whether it's euro-trap, electro-dance or a pastiche of Italian tarantella, their music is fresh and fun. It's also more unpredictable and less formatted, contrasting with a Eurovision that's increasingly shaped by the "big boys". writing campsIt's an adventure in which the quest for a winning recipe can sometimes be at the expense of authenticity. Love him or hate him, Tommy Cash remains true to himself, elusive and unpredictable - and that's precisely what makes the adventure so intriguing.
Even if complaints have been made, Tommy Cash is not risking anything with his song " Espresso Macciato "which makes fun of Italy. The lyrics have been validated by the EBU. Will this boldness pay off in May? Given the craze surrounding her character, the public will follow. But her repeated frontal provocations against the Eurovision institution and its organisation, the EBU, could come at a price. cash (hin hin!), especially with the jury's votes, unless yet another grain of sand jams the already busy provocation machine.
One thing's for sure: Eurovision has not finished surprising us and creating a buzz!
The Artist File of Tommy Cash
Tommy Cash - Instagram
