‘We Don’t Talk About Bruno’ is Officially No.1 in the U.S.
Encanto’s soundtrack has basically been on repeat since its release in November of last year so its massive success is not surprising
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Encanto’s soundtrack has basically been on repeat since its release in November of last year so its massive success is not surprising. “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” hit No.1 on Spotify and the soundtrack became the sixth animated soundtrack in history to reach the No.1 spot on the Billboard 200. Now the breakout hit, “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”, is officially No.1 on the Billboard charts. The track, penned by Lin-Manuel Miranda, became the first Disney song to reach the top spot since “A Whole New World” from Aladdin (1993) performed by Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle. John Leguizamo, who voices Bruno, shared the news on Instagram writing, “We did it! #wedonttalkaboutbruno is numero uno y’all! Wepa!”
“We Don’t Talk About Bruno” has more than 34 million streams, according to Billboard. The song made its Billboard debut at No. 50 and five weeks later it climbed all the way to No.1. It’s performed by Carolina Gaitán, Mauro Castillo, Adassa, Rhenzy Feliz, Diane Guerrero and Stephanie Beatriz who play various characters of the Madrigal family in the film. Another historic aspect of the song’s success is the ensemble behind the song as it sets the record for the most credited recording artists ever on a Hot 100 No. 1, according to Billboard. “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” remains an earworm months after the film’s release and has sparked many TikToks dedicated to the song because of how catchy it is which has obviously contributed to its success.
“I’m surprised it’s ‘Bruno,'” Miranda told People. “I feel like this is my ‘Send in the Clowns,’ which was the late Stephen Sondheim’s biggest hit and probably the most random of an incredible career and life making music. But I’ll take it!”
The success of the song marks the first Hot 100 No.1 song for Miranda, who is the sole writer and co-producer with Mike Elizondo. This week marks the first time a soundtrack to a Disney animated movie and one of its songs simultaneously lead the Billboard 200 and Hot 100, respectively according to Billboard.
“It’s been really amazing because ensemble numbers don’t usually get this kind of love,” Miranda said about the song on Billboard‘s Pop Shop Podcast. “My job is to raise my hand and let this room of animators and incredibly creative people know what music can do.”
The album’s other breakout hit, “Surface Pressure”, performed by Jessica Darrow, also reached a new spot this week at No.9. While the success of “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” has been attributed to how catchy it is, “Surface Pressure” resonated with many because of the lyrics about the pressures put on the eldest children by family members. Darrow told Billboard that an aspect she loves most about the film and soundtrack is how they celebrate Latinidad:
“I also think it’s amazing that it’s Latinos at the forefront. We rule the world! I love that in this representation of my Latino culture, you can find yourself regardless of where you come from. The colors, the food, the characters, the type of personalities, it’s what it means to coexist. When life gets hard, you just turn the music up and shove food in your mouth — and when that’s not enough, you start talking about things.”
