Mon Laferte is celebrating the fact that, “in her 40s” and at a time when “there’s this idea” that women in music have “an expiration date,” she is experiencing her “peak romance” with Spain, and this Saturday she will serve as a spokesperson for LGBTIQ+ rights at MADO (Madrid Pride) 2026.
“It’s unfortunate to take a step backward when rights have been won and so many people are fighting for them,” the Chilean singer-songwriter emphasizes in an interview with EFE, reflecting on the significance of her participation in this event in Madrid, “amid a wave of conservatism around the world in general, and in Latin America as well, with many new far-right presidents.”
She adds that being one of the artists performing at Madrid’s Pride celebrations brings her “a lot of personal joy,” because for her, “the central theme of her work is celebrating love and diversity,” and she ties this to her own identity as a feminist through and through, both in her actions and in her music.
“It’s gotten a bad reputation lately to say you’re a feminist, but for me, there’s no other way to see the world, because being a feminist means we all have the same rights. I think it has a bad reputation because it’s been misunderstood—as if you want to walk all over men or hate them—and I love them,” she emphasizes.
She makes her feminist stance clear in “For Your Consideration,” the monologue that opens “Femme Fatale Vol. 2” (Sony, 2026), her album released just a few weeks ago, in which she also makes a statement that seems revolutionary these days: that she does not believe in religion.
“Religion has always struck me as pretty harsh in general. I became a mother, looked at my son, and thought to myself, ‘This child can’t possibly have been born with sin written on his forehead.’ I don’t like that religion involves so much guilt and so many prohibitions, and I love freedom,” explains the woman, who does consider herself a “spiritual” person.
That opening monologue on her new album was the result of a “brainstorming session” in which she asserts her right not to be consistent, to rethink everything, and to reconcile her punk past (of which, incidentally, there’s a glimpse served up as an “interlude” or bit of mischief on this album) with being co-opted by the system.
Mon Laferte opens up: “I don’t want music that’s just for show”
Just like in that song, and just as she did in the first volume of the musical project “Femme Fatale,” she ultimately reveals all the facets of a complex woman, going beyond the stereotypes that others might have imposed on her because of her passionate, unrestrained songs with a “retro” feel, reminiscent of a crime novel.
“The press has referred to me several times as the femme fatale of music, the Chilean femme fatale, so this was kind of like owning that—that perception that I’m a bit of a fool, but in the end, because we know I’m dangerous, people don’t really like me that much because I’m actually very smart,” she jokes.
With an already extensive repertoire of songs like “Tu falta de querer”—which is on track to reach one billion streams on Spotify—she says she’s proud of provocative lyrics such as “You’re definitely going to miss me / When you’re hard / My life doesn’t fit in this house / Even with all my architecture.”
“Music is a reflection of society. We sing and compose about what we experience, hear, and feel, and I’ve always liked to provoke a reaction in people. If it doesn’t provoke anything, then it’s just decorative, and I don’t want my music to be decorative, so I always try to turn the intensity up a notch or two,” he says.
“This really moves me because I’m a woman who’s already in her 40s, and, well, 40 years old, a woman… Maybe there’s already this idea that there’s an expiration date for people who do this,” she says, denouncing the “ageism” she perceives in comments on social media, which inevitably puts female artists under added “pressure,” according to Agencia EFE.