Unless you actually live in a secret chamber behind a portrait in an enchanted house, then you — like everyone else — likely can’t go more than a few days without hearing “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”. The smash hit from Disney’s Encanto has dominated the radio charts and social media, specifically TikTok, where it quickly went viral. But the song’s composer, Hamilton‘s Lin-Manuel Miranda, didn’t predict the catchy tune to blow up the way it did. In fact, he said it’s “straight-up crazy” that the song was so successful.
Speaking with Collider, Miranda stated that “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” isn’t the kind of song that would typically become popular. For starters, it’s an ensemble song, with multiple overlapping solos that really don’t make sense unless you’ve seen the movie. “So it’s just the least likely candidate for breakout success possible,” said Miranda. “I couldn’t have engineered a more unlikely success, but again, it gets back to the biggest obstacle in this movie was hanging onto as many of these characters as possible and revealing them to each other in interesting new ways.”
Miranda’s songwriting also gives certain characters a voice who wouldn’t have one otherwise. There’s only so much room in a Disney movie for solos, and they’re often doled out to the protagonists and villains only. But Miranda describes “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” as a “karaoke number” where everyone gets to participate. “I’m so thrilled and happily surprised by it, but it also, it makes people want to watch the movie so they can understand what the song’s about,” he added.
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