Five Burning Questions: ‘We Don’t Talk About Bruno’ From ‘Encanto’ Becomes First Disney Film No. 1 Since 1993

The song that everyone has been talking about for the first month of 2022, “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” has now grown from viral Disney soundtrack hit into simply the most popular song in the country — hitting No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time this week (chart dated Feb. 5).

The musical number, from Disney’s hit animated film Encanto, moves from 2-1 this week, marking not only the first No. 1 for each of the credited cast members — Carolina Gaitán, Mauro Castillo, Adassa, Rhenzy Feliz, Diane Guerrero, Stephanie Beatriz and the general Encanto Cast — but the first No. 1 from any Disney animated film since 1993, when Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle’s duet recording of Aladdin theme “A Whole New World” reigned for one week in March.

How unlikely a No. 1 is it? And what could its success mean for Disney soundtrack singles to come? Billboard staffers answer these questions and more below.

1. A short five weeks into its chart run, “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” is the No. 1 song in the country. On a scale from 1-10, if you were told this would be the case at the very beginning of the year, how surprised would you be?

Leila Cobo: I would be a 10! It’s not just that “Bruno” is a song from a musical, it’s that it’s an ensemble song, with clever, complex lyrics, featuring unknown singers who have accents. I love it, but I could not be more surprised.

Stephen Daw: Easily a 10. Back in one of our last Five Burning Questions, I went on the record and said that I didn’t see a future for “Bruno” in the No. 1 spot for multiple reasons — it’s a song from a Disney musical, its support comes primarily from streaming while up against radio behemoths, and I thought the craze surrounding Encanto would be dying down soon. And yet, here we are, once again talking about “Bruno!”

Jason Lipshutz: A nine. The Encanto phenomenon had already begun by the end of 2021, but there was no indication that its soundtrack was going to cross over to this degree, or that “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” had a shot at surpassing Disney classics like “Colors of the Wind” and “Let It Go” in Hot 100 ranking. Yet here we are at the beginning of February, the Encanto soundtrack and “Bruno” atop the Billboard 200 and Hot 100, respectively, with the type of movie-to-music crossover that’s practically unprecedented. Add in the fact that “Bruno” has done this as a plot-driven ensemble number and not a classic Disney standalone ballad, and you’ve got a truly mind-boggling feat.

Andrew Unterberger: Probably an eight — and the only reason it’s not higher is because you could already see the songs from the soundtrack exploding on streaming by the end of last year (leading to a lot of “hmmm what are all these songs credited to multiple artists I’m totally unfamiliar with?” confused faces on my end). Once a phenomenon reaches that kind of virality, there’s usually no holding it back from reaching the top. Still, the song itself is as unconventional a No. 1 as any we’ve had this decade.

Christine Werthman: Mark me down as a nine on the surprised scale. Kids are quite loyal listeners when they’re into a song, but you can’t bank on only appealing to kids; otherwise, “Baby Shark” probably would not have tapped out at No. 32 on the Hot 100. I suspect that “Bruno” is having greater success because parents can also stomach this one — unlike the aforementioned — because it is a fun, dynamic song. Also, since there are so many singing parts in this ensemble track, the whole family can participate, instead of everyone fighting over who gets to be Elsa.

2. One of the most impressive things about “Bruno” unseating the mighty Adele and her radio blockbuster “Easy on Me” is that it does so with just marginal top 40 support of its own so far. Do you see that trend persisting, or has “Bruno” officially become too big for radio to ignore?

Leila Cobo: I think it very happily shows that this is still a business of outliers, and that songs that are meant to connect do so despite the lack of support from either radio or streaming platforms. It also shows that unique, distinctive sounds and lyrics usually still make for the biggest hits of all. And yes, I see this trend persisting, but not en masse. “Bruno” was able to rise to the top because it had a film behind it. But I hope it sends a lesson that listeners are not homogeneous and that there are ears for more than just hip-hop or traditional pop.

Stephen Daw: I don’t think that “Bruno” is going to get a massive radio push (although the last time I made a prediction about this song, I was very clearly wrong), but I do see it getting more airplay as the week goes on. Radio is certainly in a position where they have to at least consider playing the track throughout the next few weeks, but that won’t be what gives “Bruno” any staying power, in my opinion — the song has been built up to its current position by streaming and word of mouth, and that’s what will keep it successful.

Jason Lipshutz: One could argue that “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” doesn’t work at radio because it hinges on the dramatic arc and character development within Encanto to make any sense… but then again, those are also reasons it shouldn’t work on music streaming services, which it’s dominating for a month now. So, why not? “Bruno” has become a cultural juggernaut outside of its host movie, and I’d expect radio to adopt it sooner than later.

Andrew Unterberger: Radio will have to at least give it a try — especially given that, aside from The Weeknd, most of its heavy hitters have been pretty quiet for the first month of 2022. You can’t keep reheating those 2020 and 2021 leftovers forever, even on Top 40, and eventually the Encanto spark will prove close to irresistible. Does that mean it’s going to reach a “Blinding Lights”-type level of ubiquity and longevity on the airwaves? Hardly likely, but we’ll see; betting against this song in any capacity has been inadvisable thus far.

Christine Werthman: “Bruno” is a catchy song, but I don’t foresee it turning into a radio smash. Other Disney songs, like “A Whole New World” or “Beauty and the Beast,” could sneak into easy listening lineups because they were ballads, but something this up-tempo would sound out of place on those stations as well as in the top 40 format. I can’t imagine going from Dua Lipa and Elton John to “Bruno” — unless, of course, it got its own fire PNAU remix.

3. “Bruno” obviously has very little in common with the only other Hot 100 No. 1 from a Disney animated film — Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle’s “A Whole New World” from Aladdin — nor with most of the other smash hits pulled from Disney movies in the nearly three decades in between them. What impact do you think the runaway success of “Bruno” will have over how the music for Disney movies is devised, created and/or promoted in the future, if any?

Leila Cobo: I don’t think you can plan or replicate this kind of success. But it does show, yet again, that audiences are open to new sounds and themes as long as they’re catchy and fun to listen to and well-crafted, and “Bruno” filled all those slots. Throw-away tunes are meant to be forgotten. I also do love that “Bruno” has one writer instead of 25. Maybe there’s a lesson to be learned there as well.

Stephen Daw: I think one of two things is going to happen. The first would be Disney attempting to lock Lin-Manuel Miranda down to become their new Alan Menken — he’s already proven to be an asset thanks to Moana, and now he’s shown with Encanto that he can write songs that will succeed independently of the films he wrote them for. If that’s the case, we can expect to hear a lot more songs like “Bruno” in the future. The second, less likely (but arguably better) thing that could happen is Disney starts taking a lot more creative risk with their musicals from here on out — bringing in composers from all different areas of music rather than just musical theater to devise innovative scores for musical storytelling. Both could be possible, but I’m certainly banking on the fact that we’ll be seeing much more of LMM in future Disney films.

Jason Lipshutz: Three words: more, more, more. Now that Encanto has demonstrated that Disney has score a pop culture phenomenon on its Disney+ streaming service, I’d expect a heavier saturation of animated musicals with the same type of promotional blitz — perhaps with a cadence similar to what we saw in the 1990s, when every summer featured a new Disney animated musical at the multiplex. The fact that Encanto can be streamed by Disney+ users whenever they want, as many times as they want, makes it even easier for viewers (read: kids) to learn the songs and stream them again and again; sure, not every animated musical can boast original Lin-Manuel Miranda songs, but there’s no reason for Disney to not take as many swings of the bat as possible and re-create the Encanto effect.

Andrew Unterberger: I think we’re going to see less and less of big names being pulled in for Disney soundtracks — whether it be for cast roles or for pop-oriented re-recordings of soundtrack staples. Few if any of the names on “Bruno” were likely immediately familiar to a majority of the song’s millions of weekly streamers, but that doesn’t matter: It’s always been way more about the song than the singer (or at the very least, the singer’s rep) when it comes to Disney success, and there’s no reason why the next major Disney soundtrack success wouldn’t also come without a marquee pop name attached to it.

Christine Werthman: I think this could signal a move toward more up-tempo songs in the future, but I don’t believe “Bruno” should be heard as the death knell for classic Disney ballads. There’s certainly still an audience for those, and even if they wouldn’t hit on TikTok the way “Bruno” has, they might get more radio play. 

4. Though it’s primarily an English-language song, “Bruno” obviously has its roots in multiple forms of Latin pop music. How much do you think the song’s success owes to the global proliferation of Latin pop in recent years — and will it serve a major role in helping it spread even further? 

Leila Cobo: That audiences are more open than we give them credit for was tested with Coco, the beautiful hit Mexican-themed animated film. I think “Bruno” would have done well regardless, but the fact that it was a Latin beat helped make it stick more in today’s environment.

Stephen Daw: I think the globalization of Latin pop is the reason “Bruno” has become such a major success story — obviously, the song is catchy and ultimately deserving of its success, but had the world not been primed for “Bruno” with the wave of artists like Bad Bunny, J Balvin, Kali Uchis and so many more, then I doubt the song would have become the runaway hit that it is today.

Jason Lipshutz: The success of Encanto’s music — not just “Bruno,” but multiple other songs, and its No. 1 soundtrack as a whole — is a testament to the global embrace of Latin pop, heightened during the past half-decade but with roots dating back far before that. Spanish-language songs have become commonplace on major streaming playlists and U.S. radio rotations in a way that they weren’t five years ago; “Bruno” hitting No. 1 as a primarily Latin pop song is not shocking, because Latin pop has made major noise on the Hot 100 in the years leading up to its run.

Andrew Unterberger: It’s helped, no doubt — though arguably the success of the Hamilton soundtrack and Lin-Manuel Miranda’s general sung-rapped stylings have helped at least as much. Still, in past generations music gatekeepers might’ve shied away from “Bruno” and gravitated towards a blander pop ballad like “Waiting on a Miracle” out of fear over alienating American pop listeners, and it’s awesome that that doesn’t have to be a worry anymore — and that gatekeepers can’t keep a song like “Bruno” down anymore anyway, even if they originally hoped to.

Christine Werthman Mike Elizondo, who co-produced the song with Lin-Manuel Miranda, said in a recent interview with Billboard that a large part of what makes “Bruno” stand out is its Colombian-influenced rhythm. That beat gives it a more global appeal, but the song also has distinct sections, a dramatic narrative and multiple characters — all of which helped it spread on TikTok as users acted out different parts. So yes, the Latin pop element is part of its success, as is the playfulness of the track, as is the backing of a Disney film. All of those things will help it continue to spread.

5. It’s (COVID-safe) karaoke night, and someone in your room selects “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” and starts handing out mics for the seven parts. Whose part — Carolina Gaitán (Pepa), Mauro Castillo (Felix), Adassa (Dolores), Rhenzy Feliz (Camilo), Diane Guerrero (Isabela), Stephanie Beatriz (Mirabel) or the general backing Encanto Cast — are you laying claim to?

Leila Cobo: I am Pepa, baby! I’m Colombian and I often say “No, no y no.” That’s my line.

Stephen Daw: While I think Dolores’s rapid-fire “grewtoliveinfearofBrunostutteringorstumbling” verse is just an incredible way to flex on your friends, I would have to go with my boy Camilo’s verse. It’s got everything that you really want in order to stand out at karaoke night — an easy range to sing in, melodramatic lyrics, a fabulous beat, built-in momentum from the past few verses, and the now-iconic final verse lead-in line, “Isabella your boyfriend’s here!” There is a lot of fun to be had with Camilo’s part.

Jason Lipshutz: Dolores’ whisper-rap, for sure. That’s the moment “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” switches gears into something more kinetic and cool — pass me the mic for that one.

Andrew Unterberger: I’ll just take the Encanto Cast bits and fill in here and there, thanks. Someone’s gotta do it!

Christine Werthman: Felix. He really amps up the drama.