Lin-Manuel Miranda's 'Bruno' Hits #1 For Disney
The cast recording of 'We Don't Talk About Bruno' from Disney's Encanto has reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming only the second song from a Disney animated musical to top the chart.
The cast of Disney's Encanto has landed at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 with "We Don't Talk About Bruno." According to a column on Stereogum, the song spent five weeks at the top in early 2022, becoming only the second song from a Disney animated musical to reach that peak. You can see how it compares to other musical numbers in our stats section.
The writer of the column, who reviews every number-one single, states that the song's success highlights the craft of its creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda. "The man can write a song," the column asserts, calling "Bruno" a "strange and ingratiating little nugget that no other human being could've possibly concocted." It is described as a complex, plot-driven number full of propulsive hooks and overlapping vocals.
A Rare Disney Chart-Topper
The column notes that the first Disney animated song to hit number one was "A Whole New World" from Aladdin, performed by Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle. In the years that followed, other Disney songs came close but fell short of the top spot. The writer provides a comparison of two major hits from the 1990s.
| Song | Movie | Peak Chart Position | Column's Rating (out of 10) |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Can You Feel The Love Tonight?" | The Lion King | #4 | 8 |
| "Colors Of The Wind" | Pocahontas | #4 | 6 |
These songs were big ballads sung by established pop stars, designed to function as standalone hits. The column points to 2013's "Let It Go" from Frozen as another major hit, which peaked at number five and is rated a 9. That version was sung by the film's voice actor, Idina Menzel, but it was still a grand, emotive ballad.
A Different Kind of Hit
"We Don't Talk About Bruno" operates differently. The column argues it is "all storyline" and cannot function outside the context of the movie Encanto. It is not a vague, inspirational ballad but a dense piece of musical exposition. The writer suggests its appeal lies in becoming "a kind of joyously meaningless babble" that gets stuck in your head.
The song officially credits six lead artists: Carolina Gaitán, Mauro Castillo, Adassa, Rhenzy Feliz, Diane Guerrero, and Stephanie Beatriz. This gives it more credited lead artists than any other chart-topper in Hot 100 history. The column states that most are actors rather than musicians, and for the purposes of the review, treats Lin-Manuel Miranda as the song's auteur.
The Creator's Path
The column provides brief biographical details on Miranda, attributing them to the writer's research. Lin-Manuel Miranda is from Inwood in Manhattan. His father was a political advisor and his mother a psychologist. The writer mentions, seemingly as a trivial aside, that KC & The Sunshine Band's "Please Don't Go" was the number-one song when Miranda was born.
Miranda began writing his first major musical, In The Heights, while a student at Wesleyan University in 1999. The column describes it as a "big old warm-hearted sappy romance" that incorporates rap music. The writer acknowledges a common online criticism of Miranda's "enthusiastic earnestness" but concludes by defending his skill. "He's too good at his job," the column states, finishing on the detail that Miranda's high school reportedly included the rapper Immortal Technique. For more on the artists behind chart-toppers, check our squad pages.
