John Cage‘s “4’33″” is one of the most infamous pieces of “music” of the 20th century. There are air-quotes around “music” because “4’33″” is only music in the broadest definition; Wikipedia even has a footnote defending their use of “composition” to describe it. The piece is infamous for what it requires of the performer: namely, not much of anything. The piece is ostensibly for piano though, in theory, any instrument could be used. The pianist walks out onto a stage, sits at the bench and then proceeds to close and open and close and open the lid of the keyboard at specific times, marking out the “movements.” The key part is that the performer never once plays a single note for the entirety of the four minutes and thirty-three seconds they sit at the piano.
Because of how much of a global phenomenon the Eurovision Song Contest has become, there’s a bit of arms race among countries to have their songs go viral on the internet. However, few countries, perhaps none, have attempted a stunt like Estonia has in 2025. Because, for this year’s Eurovision, their entry is none other than “4’33.”” This version is performed by Estonian rapper Tommy Cash.
Okay, we’re kidding. “4’33” is not actually Estonia’s official entry for Eurovision 2025. That, instead, is Cash’s “Espresso Macchiato.” Rather, Cash and Estonia created their performance of “4’33″” for Eurovision…A Little Bit More, a series of videos by the entrants for Eurovision that are not part of the main competition. But it would have been really funny if this was the real entry, right? It’s unfortunate the video was posted on April 2nd as they missed an opportunity here.
Anyway, if, for some reason, you’d like to watch a man sit at a piano for four and a half minutes, please enjoy:
I prefer the John Lennon cover of this event. or, for a deep cover, The Santairs cover of the John Lennon version.