# Espresso Macchiato (song)

"Espresso Macchiato" is a song by Estonian rapper and singer Tommy Cash (Tomas Tammemets). It was written by Tammemets and Finnish songwriter Johannes Naukkarinen, with production handled by Naukkarinen. The single was released on 7 December 2024 and will represent Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2025.

## Background and composition

"Espresso Macchiato" (Italian:) is a dance pop song characterized by a typical rap flow and electro swing elements. The lyrics, in a Macaronic mixture of broken English, Spanglish, and the broccolino dialect of American Italian were written by Tommy Cash together with Johannes Naukkarinen. In an interview with Kroonika, Tommy Cash stated that the idea for the song was born "naturally", without the intention of writing it specifically to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest. Naukkarinen was notably one of the songwriters of "Cha Cha Cha" by Finnish rapper Käärijä, which represented Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023.

## Music video

An accompanying music video, released in conjunction with the song through Tommy Cash's YouTube channel, portrays him sitting in front of a table while preparing and sipping the macchiato coffee, which gives the song its title.

## Reception and controversy

"Espresso Macchiato" features lyrics about spaghetti, mafia figures and other stereotypes associated with Italian culture, which has made it a subject of notable controversy in the Italian press. Following its Eesti Laul win, RAI dedicated reports to it, and the Italian consumers' association Codacons [it] requested the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to disqualify the song from the contest for its "offensive" content on stereotypes aimed at Italy and Italians, reporting to the organization the "clear" violation of the rules of the event that prohibit the participation of discriminatory songs or songs that offend other people. Political exponents of Lega Nord, including the vice-president of the Senate of the Republic Gian Marco Centinaio, also called for the song to be disqualified, maintaining that "whoever insults Italy must stay out of Eurovision".
In an article written for LaC News24, Luca Arnaù defined "Espresso Macchiato" as "not a song", but rather "an experience. An experiment. An ode to the Italian caricature, seasoned with a text that seems to have come out of a Google Translate on acid".

## Eurovision Song Contest 2025
### Eesti Laul 2025

Eesti Laul 2025 was the 17th edition of the national selection Eesti Laul, organised by ERR to select its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2025. The competition consisted of a 16-song final on 15 February 2025 at the Unibet Arena in Tallinn. The final took place on 15 February 2025. Sixteen songs competed during the show and the winner was selected over two rounds of voting. In the first round, a jury (50%) and public televote (50%) determined the top three entries to proceed to the superfinal, during which the winner was selected as the winner entirely by a public televote.
On 6 November 2024, Tomas Tammemets (Tommy Cash) was announced as one of the participants in Eesti Laul 2025, Estonia's selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2025, with the song "Espresso Macchiato". The song won the contest in the final, earning him the right to represent Estonia in the upcoming Eurovision 2025.

### Eurovision

The Eurovision Song Contest 2025 will take place at St. Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland, and will consist of two semi-finals to be held on the respective dates of 13 and 15 May, and the final on 17 May 2025. During the allocation draw held on 28 January 2025, Estonia was drawn to compete in the first semi-final, performing in the first half of the show.