‘Dangerous for being free’: Mon Laferte on calling out injustice as Chile’s biggest star

Mon Laferte released her tenth record, Femme Fatale, in October 2025, a jazz album that introduced a vampy alter ego, with a companion album, Femme Fatale Vol 2, released this month. Laferte, whose real name is Norma Monserrat Bustamante Laferte, is Chile's biggest female streaming star with over 18 million monthly listeners and holds more Latin Grammys than any other Chilean singer. She views her pop stardom as intentionally biting, stating that the "Femme Fatale" archetype is dangerous for being free and secure, a name the press has assigned to her. Laferte discussed her mental health, government corruption, and her commitment to speaking her mind despite conservative backlash. She is currently on her Femme Fatale tour across Latin America, performing in arenas, and was in New York to film a music video for the Femme Fatale track. Her distinctive style includes rhinestone-studded eyelids and artful tabi boots, and her hair was dyed red and styled in spiky Marcel waves during the interview.