Chilean-born, New York–based artist TONI is shaping a fresh wave in Latin alternative pop with music that’s both high-energy and emotionally grounded. Her sound blends andino and carribean influences, hyper-pop edges, and a global pop sensibility that feels uniquely hers.
A graduate of NYU’s Clive Davis Institute, TONI has been featured in major Chilean outlets including La Tercera, Revista YA, SCD, and Canal 13’s documentary Sueño Americano, with additional appearances on national TV through TVN. She has performed at Bowery Ballroom, Elsewhere, The Sultan Room, Arlene’s Grocery, and other staple NYC venues.
TONI recently released three singles — “HELLO KITTY,” “AMÉN,” and “FLOW CHILENO” — leading into her upcoming debut album, a body of work that captures her bold, borderless approach to Latin pop.
YOU FUSE POP, ELECTRONIC, AND LATIN INFLUENCES, OFTEN WITH BILINGUAL LYRICS. HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHICH LANGUAGE OR WHICH PARTICULAR GENRE ELEMENT IS RIGHT FOR A SPECIFIC SONG? IS THAT A CONSCIOUS CHOICE OR AN ORGANIC DEVELOPMENT?
I used to overthink this a lot, deciding what language to use for what song before I even started writing. But as I’ve grown as an artist and started trusting my instincts more, I realized it’s not something I need to intellectualize. I just follow whatever feels natural in the moment.
Instead of planning a session like “Okay, today I’m writing in English,” I jump in almost blindfolded and let the song tell me what it wants. Whatever comes first, I go with it. That’s how I ended up with an entire album of bilingual lyrics, mixing Spanish and English within the same track. It also makes sense because I grew up in Santiago, Chile, but went to an international school where everything was taught in English. Spanglish was our daily language, so that’s the space where my ideas flow the most authentically.
At first it felt complicated because I was thinking about the audience too much, trying to include everyone, and also trying to be smart about the marketing and selling of the record. But honestly, now I don’t care about that when writing. If the music is real, it will find its crowd.
Sometimes a song comes out fully in one language. I’ve noticed my more introspective and emotional songs tend to come out in Spanish, while the upbeat, high-energy ones lean English. There’s a vulnerability that shows up faster in my mother tongue, and there is also this fun, almost performative mask that’s easier to put on in English.
But the short answer is that I stopped thinking about it and just let it be.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE KEY THEMES YOU EXPLORE IN YOUR MUSIC? ARE THERE CERTAIN RECURRING MESSAGES OR IDEAS YOU WANT LISTENERS TO TAKE AWAY FROM YOUR WORK?
For the past three years I’ve been working on my debut album which revolves a lot around the frustrations of trying to “make it” as a young creative, the shock of entering adulthood, and all the internal battles that come with that: distorted perception, vulnerability, womanhood.
I had this very dream-oriented, idealistic vision of how my career would unfold. In college, studying music, I was constantly surrounded by people who cared, who listened, who gave thoughtful feedback. Then you step into the real world and suddenly you’re fighting for your place, fighting to be heard, to be understood, to not be hyper-sexualized, to be taken seriously, to break open your own doors. Facing that was hard and honestly pretty disappointing.
So a lot of this album deals with the idea of “failure,” or rather: what you do when your ideal doesn’t match your reality. But instead of sitting in that sadness, I wanted to reclaim the narrative. Every song is an attempt to turn those moments into empowerment. I wrote intentionally from a place of honesty but also from the perspective of, “How do I hype myself up enough to keep going?”
It’s a concept album: raw, emotional, but also uplifting and full of “baddie” energy because that’s what I needed to move through the hardship. The album ends with an experimental song that proves you can be vulnerable and still powerful at the same time.
YOUR MUSIC, WITH ITS POP, ELECTRONIC, AND LATIN RHYTHMS, IS INHERENTLY DANCEABLE. HOW IMPORTANT IS THE ROLE OF DANCE IN BRINGING YOUR MUSIC TO LIFE, BOTH IN YOUR LIVE PERFORMANCES AND IN CONNECTING WITH YOUR AUDIENCE ACROSS PLATFORMS LIKE SOCIAL MEDIA?
Uff I mean it’s crucial for me because I actually started dancing before singing or doing music at all.I had a period of time where I was figuring myself out, my artistic identity, my sound, all that (honestly I think we are always somewhat in that process). Music became very “heady”, but as soon as I paired it with dance, I started to ground everything more. My approach to music now is very feeling/body based. I try to prioritize what sits well in the body rather than putting too much thought into it. How is it making me move and where do I feel this resonating?
Dance has also become a way for me to translate my music visually beyond photos and mood boards. My amazing friend and collaborator Samantha Chapa has been training me and creating all my choreo, so my goal is to continue to incorporate dance into my artistry as much as possible, and become a better dancer too.
I’ve also fallen in love with the dance community. They are so supportive and incredible at hyping you up! They are amazing fans as well, really showing up when it matters. Sammy and I hosted a dance class teaching the choreo for one of my singles, HELLO KITTY, and we had an insane turnaround. The class was packed with like 60 people, so I definitely want to continue connecting with that community and giving back to them as much as I can.
YOU WERE ONE OF THE PERFORMERS AT THE SONGTRUST AMPLIFIED LAUNCH PARTY. WHAT WAS IT LIKE BEING PART OF THAT EVENT, AND WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU TO CONNECT WITH OTHER INDEPENDENT ARTISTS WITHIN DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES?
The Songtrust event was amazing! They put together a lineup of three artists, all different genres and energies, so the crowd got a little bit of everything. I’ve met some of my closest collaborators through events like this, so getting to connect with other artists that night was honestly a big win.
There were also a ton of industry people in the room, which is huge for independent artists like me with small teams. Getting more eyes and ears on what we’re doing is everything, and Songtrust really created a space for that.
YOU'VE TAKEN OWNERSHIP OF YOUR CAREER TO THE EXTENT OF CREATING YOUR OWN LABEL, KITTY RECORDS. HOW DOES HAVING KITTY RECORDS IN PLACE SHAPE YOUR LONG-TERM VISION FOR YOUR CAREER? ARE THERE PLANS TO EXPAND THE LABEL OR IS IT PRIMARILY A VEHICLE FOR YOUR OWN MUSIC?
Another one of my struggles as I’ve built my career is finding the “right” community. I feel like I belong in a few different spaces, but I never felt like there was one space where it all clicked. I kept thinking I needed to find this space, find my followers, find find find but this year something shifted and I realized I had to create it myself. Some people work better joining a group, others need to lead and build one, and I kept trying the first approach. It just wasn’t working for me, so I was like, okay, let me try the second. That’s how KITTY RECORDS came to life.
It’s a record label that represents genre-bending artists and offers marketing services and mentorship through its sub-company, KITTY MEDIA, but above everything it’s a community — and that’s what I see it growing into. I want to bring together people who feel the same way I do and who connect with the mix of music, vibe, culture, dance, all of it.
I also wanted to acknowledge the reality that I’m already doing most of the work behind my artist project, TONI, so why not make it official under a label. I’m doing the marketing, the press outreach, editing my social videos, all the admin, the distribution — so it just made sense to give it a real home.
WHAT'S ONE PIECE OF ADVICE YOU WOULD GIVE TO ANOTHER INDEPENDENT ARTIST WHO IS JUST STARTING OUT AND TRYING TO NAVIGATE THE MUSIC INDUSTRY IN A PLACE LIKE NEW YORK CITY?
Stick to the people who genuinely make you feel good, not the ones who just have “clout” or seem to be growing faster. You never know who is going to help you in the long run, and it’s way more important to build a network of people you actually care about and who care about you. It makes the whole process more enjoyable and takes the pressure off the outcome. The opportunities that come from that are usually the most real.
When people say this business is about networking, we immediately think it means collecting as many Instagrams as possible from “important” or influential people, but that rarely leads anywhere. The real opportunities usually come from your friends, your allies, the people in your corner who might be at the exact same stage of their career as you but could have a breakthrough overnight. Those are the people who will bring you along and share their wins with you.
It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t expand your circle, it just means you should be intentional about where your energy goes. Make sure the people who receive it are real ones.
WHAT’S NEXT? CAN YOU GIVE US A HINT ABOUT ANY UPCOMING PROJECTS, RELEASES, OR PERFORMANCES?
We just released the third and final single, "FLOW CHILENO," from my upcoming debut album set for release before the end of the year. We’re also working on a dance video for "FLOW CHILENO" that’s coming out next month. This album has been three years in the making with my co-producer Ani Klang, and most of it was done over Zoom sending stems back and forth, so I’m very ready to finally put this body of work into the world.
Right now my focus is on playing more shows in NYC and possibly organizing a tour for next year. I really feel like this project is the start of something exciting. I can finally show what a full TONI project looks and feels like, and hopefully that leads me to bigger stages and a wider reach.
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