Juanes & Mon Laferte: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

May 23, 2018 | Felix Contreras -- Colombian pop star Juanes and Chilean singer Mon Laferte recently wrapped up a sold-out tour of the United States, which (lucky for us) included a stop at the Tiny Desk.

Laferte began the concert solo with the torch song "Pa' Dónde Se Fue" (Where Did You Go?). She sang the break-up story with a smirk that belied the heartache hiding in her poignant lyrics. Then, after a short set break starring the Tiny Desk engineer Josh Rogosin, Juanes joined her to perform the duo's sultry single, "Amárrame" (Tie Me Up).

It's rare to see Juanes in such an intimate setting. After almost two decades of performing solo, the Latin pop star is more of a stadium and arena kind of guy. It's a treat to hear his voice unencumbered by loud speakers or crowd noise, and to see his facial expressions as he sings lyrics that many of us know by heart. This marked a return to the intimacy that fueled his earliest days and that's still present in the personal lyrics that have sold millions of records.

That intimacy was heightened by the presence of Laferte. The duo performed a PG-13 version of "Amárrame," a passionate pop song with lyrics reminiscent of 50 Shades Of Grey. You can sense an obvious chemistry between the two during that song, as well as on the Juanes classic "Fotografia" (which originally featured Nelly Furtado).

Juanes closed out the concert solo with a stripped-down version of "Es Tarde" from his last album, Mis Planes Son Amarte. The performance demonstrates why Juanes and Laferte's duet tour sold out across the U.S. this year. There is a magic here that makes for repeated viewing. It's that much fun to watch.

SET LIST
"Pa' Dónde Se Fue" by Mon Laferte
"Amárrame [feat. Juanes]" by Mon Laferte
"Fotografía [feat. Mon Laferte]" by Juanes
"Es Tarde" by Juanes

CREDITS
Producers: Robin Hilton, Morgan Noelle Smith; Creative Director: Bob Boilen; Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin; Videographers: Morgan Noelle Smith, Kara Frame, Dani Lyman; Production Assistant: Joshua Bote; Photo: Eslah Attar/NPR.

[nprmusic]

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[anatroila]

No veo el crédito del guitarrista que acompaña a Juanes y a Mon Laferte. Es colombiano, de Palmira, Valle y se llama Juan Pablo Daza. Un saludo compañero, desde Palmira.

[laumarc_]

En realidad “Pa’ dónde se fue” se trata del papá de mon, ya que el se fue cuando ella era pequeña y pasó una gran parte de su vida sin el; años después se volvieron a ver. Por eso ella habla de cómo busca la humanidad y esa paternidad en los hombres. Siempre se me arruga el corazón cada vez que la escucho cantarla. ❤

[juanramonzapatamercado]

Por los comentarios parace que necesitamos un Tiny Desk del guitarriasta.... 100 puntos!

[mjbeatsbackingtracks]

tal vez muchos no lo noten, pero el guitarrista es excelente.

[marguzmel]

This was a nice presentation, I like them both... But Mon deserves her own Tiny desk. She's amazing.

[biolsam]

Esta primera canción está super profunda, se nota el sentimiento desgarrador de la ausencia de un padre...grande Mon

[rigobertomejia]

Cómo pueden ser tan buenos estos 3 que excelentes

[Nato]

0:00 Pa' dónde se fue [Mon Laferte]
5:16 Amárrame [Mon Laferte feat. Juanes]
9:13 Fotografía [Juanes feat. Mon Laferte]
13:38 Es tarde [Juanes]

[natikadarlevi]

I don't know almost any Spanish, but "Pa' Dónde Se Fue" definitely made me NEED to translate the song. Wonderful performance!!

[juanhito]

A día de hoy me sigue impresionando esta versión de "pa donde se fue" me parece profundamente desgarradora, la interpretación y el sentimiento que le pone Mon, es muy profundo y debo admitir que siempre que la escucho se me escapa una lagrima.

[sebastiancardenasduran]

Me fascina la interpretación de Mon en fotografía. Que mujer tan sensible, tiene una facilidad para transmitir tantas emociones. ARTISTA100%

[ecatziniguaran]

I love juanes music, but I really think Mon Laferte should get a Tiny Desk Concert alone. She's excellent

[MariaElena-smpz]

Finally she's getting the recognition she highly deserves. She's wonderful

[leidilorenaoroscojimenez]

Genial, que lindos ❤ son grandes artistas, crecí con la música de Juanes en mi adolescencia, y el guitarrista exelente ✨ saludos fraternos paisanos desde COLOMBIA, abrazo Mon hermosa 🌺

[kilodert]

Qué gran química entre Mon Laferte, Juanes y el guitarrista

[manueljimenez]

Por dios la voz de mon laferte es poesia 😮 😢

[slapfan]

Mon Laferte is an amazing artist, her passion and raw feeling spill over her immense talent. Few have the power to touch the audience’s heart. Mon delivers, and leaves you wanting more. Simply amazing Hispanic talent.

[centrodeartekillapaxi]

Viva chile viva colombia y toda latino america

[N_Torres]

It was not too long ago, Mon was on Facebook asking if any one of her 3, 000 followers knew if anyone had a van she could borrow so her band could drive to Austin. It was exciting to see her "sudden" rise, live on social media - wasn't long after that she was getting hounded anywhere she went in Mexico. She has come a long way.