Mon Laferte is known for her chameleonic and theatrical looks, her powerful stage presence, and her confidence and sensuality. But Norma Monserrat Bustamante Laferte, the person behind the dazzling music star, is far from being a Femme Fatale, as the title of her latest album suggests.
“Something happens to me on red carpets and in general, I always feel a bit like an intruder, like a voyeur — like I’m observing something I don’t belong to,” admits the singer-songwriter in an interview from London, the day after attending the 2025 Fashion Awards as a guest of Mexican-American creative Willy Chavarría, who was nominated for designer of the year.
“I like the peace at home, I want to go unnoticed, I don’t want the spotlight,” adds the mother of a 3-year-old boy. “I’ve learned to have a calmer and more normal life, so to speak, and I seek that. I long for it.”
2025 has been a year of significant achievements and challenges for the Chilean singer-songwriter based in Mexico. After premiering the ultra-personal — and at times heartbreaking — documentary Mon Laferte: Te Amo on Netflix in 2024, she made her theater acting debut in a production of the musical Cabaret at the iconic Teatro de los Insurgentes in Mexico City, playing the iconic role of Sally Bowles during the summer. Then, in October, she released her ninth studio album, Femme Fatale, a poetic and dark exploration of femininity, desire, and vulnerability, where she blends jazz with alternative pop and vintage sounds.
Now she’s getting ready to go on tour in 2026, starting in February at the Viña del Mar International Song Festival and continuing through the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Colombia, and more as part of the Latin American leg of her Femme Fatale Tour, before heading to the U.S. (with dates yet to be announced).
Below, Mon Laferte connects with Billboard Español from London to answer 20 questions on music, acting, past wounds, motherhood, tattoos, and more.
1. How was your experience at the Fashion Awards?
Very good, it was a lot of fun. I went with designer Willy Chavarría. It was a different experience to be at a fashion awards show. I’ve been a fan of fashion since I was little — I’ve always felt like part of that universe, so I had a great time. I was so excited to see [the legendary Vogue editor] Anna Wintour and everyone there.
2. Did you feel like a femme fatale in that environment?
Of course, I’ve been on many red carpets, and you’d think I’d be used to it, right? But no, no, no. I always have this feeling that I’m doing something that doesn’t suit me or doesn’t belong to me.
3. In regards to Femme Fatale, the album, how would you define it?
It’s an album I started with the idea of making a jazz record, but along the way, it shifted a bit. And it’s a album, I’d say, that’s very personal, confessional, uncomfortable for me, and uncomfortable for the listener as well. I’ve had people say, “Hey, I was listening to it, and certain lyrics made me nervous.” And that’s exactly what I aim for — to shake people up, leave them with questions, reflections, and put them in a certain mood. It’s a nighttime, daring album. For me, the definition of a femme fatale is a woman who lives by night, who is dangerous to the world, to men, because she’s confident and free.
4. This year, you portrayed another woman of the night, the iconic Sally Bowles from Cabaret, in a production of the musical in Mexico City. How does Mon Laferte resemble Sally Bowles?
Well, Mon, the character, resembles Sally a lot. I mean, she’s broken, she’s an artist, she loves the lights, the glitter, the sequins, the applause, and she desperately seeks attention and wants to have a glamorous life. That’s my version of Mon. But in reality, I, Norma Monserrat, think I’m the opposite today: I like the peace at home, I want to go unnoticed, I don’t want the spotlight. I’ve learned to have a calmer and more normal life, so to speak, and I seek that. I long for it.
5. You’ve dabbled in acting before, with small roles in several films. What’s been your favorite so far?
I’d be lying if I said I’ve acted, because I’ve done small cameos in friends’ films. You know, like someone once told me, “Let’s do a cameo,” and I said three lines because they’re friends… So, really, the only thing I’ve done as an actress, taking on a character, was Sally. That’s been the most complex for me — especially in theater, because there are no cuts, no second takes. If you mess up, you fix it in the moment. It’s definitely been the hardest and also the most rewarding thing I’ve done.
6. Speaking of acting, in the music video for “Melancolía,” which is also very dramatic, you appear alongside veteran Chilean actor Pancho Reyes. How did that collaboration come about?
Yes, I love Pancho Reyes. Well, he’s the eternal heartthrob of telenovelas. I used to watch him when I was little, and I think I was in love with him. My mom too. I think everyone in the house was in love with Pancho Reyes. And I wanted an older actor. Last year on my tour, I had older men — I had a 60-year-old dancer. I’m interested in diversity — in bodies, in ages — because in music, onstage, in pop, it’s always twenty-somethings. And besides, I’m already in my 40s, so I wanted an older man, and I wanted it to be in Chile. [The video was filmed on a beach in Valparaíso.] And well, Pancho, I’m friends with his wife — so I literally called her and said, “Amiga, lend me your husband.” [Laughs.]
7. Last year, in the documentary Mon Laferte: Te Amo, you shared an intimate portrait where you talked about deep wounds from your childhood. Did making this film help you heal in any way?
I’m not sure if it helped me heal. A little bit, yes, but it definitely stirred up a lot of emotions. I hadn’t planned to share all those things. A few years ago, some people proposed making a documentary, and I always said no, that documentaries are made when you’re dead or very old. I wasn’t enthusiastic about the idea, but I finally agreed because of the team.
And sure enough, the directors — especially Camila Grandi — became very close friends, and it was easy to open up to them, forgetting we were making a documentary. When I saw the first cut, my initial reaction was, “No, no, no, this can’t come out.” I thought, “Let’s avoid this, let’s leave out the pregnancy part, everything else too.” And then I thought about it… It stirred up a lot for me. But I feel like it might help others too.
I’ve seen documentaries about Nina Simone, Violeta Parra, and Chavela Vargas, and they inspired me so much, so very much, and they gave me the strength to keep going, especially when I was younger. So, I thought, well, maybe this documentary can help some girl, some artist out there. And in the end, I said: “You know what? It’s not that important. I’m not that important. It doesn’t matter that it’s there, that it exists, and that it can be of some use to someone.”
8. Do you at least feel like you lifted a weight off your shoulders by releasing the documentary?
I don’t know, I don’t know if I lifted a weight off my shoulders. I think I’m still processing it. I haven’t completely come to terms with it yet. I mean, I haven’t even watched it again. I only saw it once. I haven’t watched it again because I feel so self-conscious about it, and it also makes me sad. I don’t know if I feel liberated. I’m not sure I’m ready to watch it again.
9. On to happier topics, you have a beautiful son who’s almost four years old, Joel. How would you describe the experience of being a mom?
Oh, it’s wonderful. I think I’ve never been so exhausted but so happy in my life. I’m so happy with my son. I swear, he doesn’t let me feel depressed. You know, the day ends, and sometimes things don’t work out, and I get mad over silly things, but then I come home, see his little face, and I have to bathe him, and he says the sweetest things to me: “Mom, I love you.” We laugh, I play with him, and all the stress just disappears. It’s a cliché, but it’s true: He’s the most beautiful thing that’s ever happened to me.
10. Did motherhood change in any way your artistic sensitivity or the way you make music?
Yes, I think I’m more sensitive now. And I think I’ve also dared to share more since becoming a mom. Even with the documentary — something happened within me, like realizing that things aren’t that important anymore, that everything I used to think about takes a backseat.
11. You have multiple tattoos. What was the last one you got, when, where, and why?
A spider. I think that’s the last one I got, I’m not sure. And I only got it because I wanted to have something on my neck, nothing more. A little over a year ago, I went to my tattoo artist in Mexico City — she’s done several tattoos for me — and I asked her to show me her designs, and she had that spider. It gets to a point where you have so many tattoos that you don’t think too much about the meaning anymore! I had also been wanting to get something on my neck for a while because I had thyroid cancer, so I wanted to symbolically tattoo that area. I also wanted to cover the scar. But anyway, I love having it.
Mon Laferte
Mayra Ortiz
12. What’s your favorite song of yours to perform live?
Right now, at this moment, “Otra Noche de Llorar,” which was the first single from Femme Fatale. I love that song. It’s bad to say because it’s my own song, but I love it, I adore it. And it’s super hard to sing! That’s another reason I like it — it’s challenging for me.
13. What’s been the hardest song for you to write?
I think the whole Femme Fatale album was quite complex because there were very personal and emotional things in it. I kept saying, “Okay, I want it to be uncomfortable,” but then I’d think, “To what extent?” There’s one track that’s more of a free-form poem than a song, called “1:30,” and I think that’s been, lyrically, the most complex and also the most complete thing I’ve done in my entire discography.
14. You’ve collaborated with major artists like Juanes, Enrique Bunbury, Los Auténticos Decadentes, and many more. Is there a collaboration you secretly regret doing?
Yes, there are a couple, but not because of the artist — more because it wasn’t the right time… But I’m obviously not going to name names!
15. Who’s someone you haven’t collaborated with yet but you’re dying to?
I always say Lana del Rey. I mean, I know it’s super difficult, but I’ll say it a million times over: Yes, I want to sing with Lana.
16. Have you met?
Yes. She follows me on Instagram, and once I went to one of her concerts because we shared the same record label. We met in her dressing room, and we talked, and she was super sweet. I mean, she knows who I am. But, you know, there’s a big difference between just knowing someone and actually singing with them.
17. You were born in Viña del Mar, Chile, and you’ve lived in Mexico City for years. What’s your favorite Mexican food?
Chilaquiles. At any time of the day.
18. Favorite spot to visit in Chile?
There’s a place in Viña del Mar called La Roca Oceánica. It’s just rocks and the ocean — nothing else. And I love it.
19. What’s a song of yours that practically wrote itself?
I’d say “Tu falta de querer” came out like that, almost by itself. And also “Melancolía.”
20. Complete this sentence: Being a woman in the music industry has been…
…swimming against the current.
