“Mi amore, Mi amore, Espresso macchiato, macchiato, macchiato, macchiato, Por favore, Por favore, Espresso macchiato corneo…” The catchiness of the chorus, the fun of the dancing, a hilarious set design and the performance of a Tommy Cash at his most powerful, made the song Espresso Macchiato one of the favorites to win Eurovision 2025. It didn’t. But it did come in third. Now, Tommy Cash announces a European tour with a stop in Madrid for this autumn. It will be on November 27th at Sala Mon and tickets will be on sale on May 23rd.
Italy worships, daily and with fervor, the gastronomy of his country. Just as halving spaghetti or adding cream to carbonara sauce is heresy, so is laughing at one of its most widespread customs: enjoying an Espresso Macchiato (or, in general, enjoying a good coffee). This year’s Estonian representative at Eurovision surprised with a song that mixes English and Italian, and makes explicit reference to some of the typical clichés of the Alpine country. Between laughter, irony and criticism, Italy was heartbroken.
But that’s the thing about an artist like Tommy Cash: with his irreverence and his way of being in the world, he won the hearts of the Italians by sipping Espresso Macchiato (not in vain, Italy gave 7 points in the professional vote to Estonia and 10 points in the popular televote). Perhaps the real controversy was in the 8 points awarded to Israel by the Italian professional jury.
The artistic universe of Tommy Cash
To many, Tommy Cash may seem to be a freak who has reached Eurovision almost like Rodolfo Chikilicuatre did for Spain in 2008. On the other hand, Cash has been creating his own artistic and performative universe for years, very active in networks, critical and incisive in each of his pieces. Uncomfortable, strange, unique.
Beyond his musical facet, Cash is recognized as a visual artist who mixes the post-Soviet aesthetics that saw him grow up with global events and trends. He does this with a twisted, cynical, even black humor. His charisma and this incisive and artistic point of view on the planet, has earned him several collaborations with artists such as Charli XCX, Joji, Boys Noize, A. G. Cook, Little Big, Salvatore Ganacci…