Watch: MISS WORLD CHILE Contestant Surprises Judges By Performing Song From Her Death Metal Band
Ignacia Fernández, a 27-year-old model who is also the vocalist and founder of the Chilean progressive death metal band DECESSUS, surprised everyone at the Miss World Chile 2025 (Spanish: Miss Mundo Chile) semifinal last Sunday (November 2) by singing a death metal song.
Fernández, a Miss World Chile 2025 contestant, is representing the Las Condes district in this year’s pageant, with hopes to then represent her country in Miss Universe.
For her performance in the semifinal of the beauty pageant, she decided to sing one of the original songs from DECESSUS, wearing a ball gown and accompanied by her bandmate, guitarist Carlos Palma.
Both the audience and the judges were taken aback during the first few seconds of the performance. That surprise quickly turned into a standing ovation: one of the judges said he had never seen anything like it in a beauty pageant.
Her performance earned her a place among the top 20 favorites in the beauty pageant and a spot in the final, which will be held this Sunday, November 9.
Formed in 2020, DECESSUS, which also features drummer Martín Fénix and bassist Jaime Pepe, has opened for such international acts as INSOMNIUM and JINJER. They have also performed at festivals in Finland and Germany, and in September 2024 they opened for EPICA in Santiago.
In an interview with the Chilean newspaper Las Últimas Noticias, Ignacia said she was nervous about how the public would react. “Television lends itself to people making memes and making fun of you,” she explained. The song I sang is by my band. It’s my job, my life.”
However, the beauty queen received a positive reaction for her performance with Palma.
Regarding how she takes care of her voice, Fernández said: “I studied for more than two years, very focused. I have an ENT [ears, nose and throat] specialist and a speech therapist with whom I constantly make sure that everything is okay. I warm up during the day and before a show I take between 15 and 30 minutes to do several exercises calmly.”
Fernández was born and raised in Santiago, Chile, where she combines her modeling career — which she began in 2013 — with her other great passion: extreme music.
As she has shared on her social media, metal “has been a fundamental part” of who she is as a person and of her life. For her, it represents “a refuge, a source of strength and purpose.”
The appearance of a death metal singer in a global beauty pageant has not only generated curiosity, but has also sparked a debate about the stereotypes that persist in these types of events, according to the El Independiente newspaper. Fernández stated that this performance was a great opportunity to break down barriers, asserting that one shouldn’t fear the prejudices of others.
Fernández will now compete for the Miss World Chile crown with very clear objectives. “I’m not trying to fit in. I’m trying to show myself as I am,” she said in an interview after her performance.
