Kylie Totten ’24
EE Staff Writer
Lin-Manuel Miranda has done it again. Since the release of Disney’s newest movie Encanto in November of 2021, it’s song “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” has made its way into millions of households all over the world. It has climbed to the top of many different charts, including Spotify’s Top Songs-USA and the Billboard Hot 100. “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” is on the rise, and it doesn’t look like it’s about to stop anytime soon.
Disney’s Encanto was released on November 24, 2021 and it’s popular soundtrack was written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, a well-known playwright, musician and actor. He played major roles in productions such as Hamilton, In the Heights, and fellow Disney film Moana.
Miranda has proved time and again he knows how to write a catchy song, but none have been as popular as “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”. It rocketed through multiple music charts, holding the top spot in both Spotify’s Top Songs-USA chart and the Billboard Hot 100. Another Encanto song, “Surface Pressure”, which was also written by Miranda, made its way to Number 5 on the same Spotify Top Songs-USA list.
The popular song brings almost the entire main cast of the movie together, combining different melodies and individual styles of each character. The song itself is credited to Carolina Gaitan (Pepa), Mauro Castillo (Félix), Adassa (Dolores), Rhenzy Feliz (Camilo), Diane Guerrero (Isabela), Stephanie Beatriz (Mirabel) & the Encanto Cast.
“We Don’t Talk About Bruno” taking the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart makes it one of Disney’s most popular songs ever. Even “Let It Go”, the breakout hit from the 2013 movie Frozen, peaked at the number five spot. The only other Disney song to ever top the Billboard 100 Chart was “A Whole New World” from the movie Aladdin, which made it to the number one spot in 1993.
So what exactly is it about this song that has everyone pressing that repeat button? Well, there are about 100 answers to that question. For starters, Miranda mixes Latin American influences with his own Broadway style to give the song interesting rhythms. Miranda also wrote the song in a way so that the character’s singing was hardly ever on the beat, an interesting effect that can add depth and motion to the song.
The beats and rhythms aren’t the only thing the song has going for it, it also tells an interesting and complex story in only 3 minutes and 35 seconds. It follows the main character Mirabel as she questions each of her family members about the disappearance of her Uncle Bruno. But as the song moves from character to character, we hear different opinions and frustrations from each character that gives a different perspective into each of their lives.
“We Don’t Talk About Bruno” is arguably the most popular Disney song of all time, and it seems to be for good reason. It appears the only thing left to do is sit and see just how far this song will go. And of course, wait for Disney’s next breakout hit to challenge its top spots.