“Who would have known ‘We Don’t Talk About Bruno’ was gonna be a hit?” says the tune’s songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda. The Encanto song has quickly scaled to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the second-highest-charting song from a Disney animated film ever (behind only the No. 1 “A Whole New World,” from Aladdin, in 1993). “Well, that is a certified bop. I’m amazed to be in such incredible company.”
Miranda — who wrote the eight songs featured in Encanto and on its soundtrack — joins the Billboard Pop Shop Podcast (listen to his entire interview below) to talk, of course, about “Bruno,” and to share his reaction to the Encanto soundtrack reaching No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.
Plus, Miranda details how he worked with the Encanto animators and creators to help tell the film’s story through song, and his songwriting process for film. In addition, with the film’s “Dos Oruguitas” shortlisted for the Oscar for best original song, Miranda shares why that song was the right tune to submit to the Academy as a representation of the film — versus all of the other tunes he wrote for Encanto.
Here are some highlights from Miranda’s interview with the Pop Shop Podcast:
‘Talk’ About a Hit: The Encanto soundtrack returned to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 (dated Jan. 29) for a second nonconsecutive week in the lead. It first topped the list dated Jan. 15, following the film’s Disney+ premiere on Dec. 24, 2021.
“I knew it would get a bump on Disney+,” Miranda says, “because I watched that happen with ‘Moana.’ Like, ‘Moana’ become a prime babysitting tool for people.” [Laughs]
“But then I went on vacation — the first I’ve taken in a very, very, very long time, and when I got back, the soundtrack was just kind of everywhere. It sort of started with texts from my friends of their kids singing the songs, and then it started being like friends I hadn’t heard from since college, sending me videos of their kids singing the songs. It’s just been incredible.”
‘What Music Can Do’: How did Miranda partake in the story process of Encanto as the film was being developed? “My job is to raise my hand and let this room of animators and incredibly creative people know what music can do,” he says. “Like, here’s what I think these songs can cover. I think here’s where I can run with the ball and get some real estate.
“Your job as the musical dramatist in this room is to sort of say, here’s where I think music can elevate and help tell our story.”
‘Dos Oruguitas’ is ‘the Heart of the Movie’: Was it hard for Miranda to choose one of his family of songs to put forth as the song to the Academy? And why “Dos Oruguitas”?
“I try not to think of it as ‘what is the song that could win?’ Because that part you really can’t control… What you try to do is kind of pick the song, or submit the song that you feel best exemplifies the spirit of the movie,” he says. “And so with ‘Dos Oruguitas,’ that song sort of covers the foundational emotion and moment when this family began. And, so, it kind of made sense organically as the song to submit. It also makes my wife cry, and my wife is a tough cry. It’s very hard to make her feel things. (Laughs.) So, I just sort of was like, ‘well this is the song that, you know, feels like the heart of the movie.’”
“It’s been fascinating to watch people’s reactions to it, because, you know, you watch people and they’re like, ‘Oh Abuela, why can’t you let anyone live?!’ And then you see what she went through, and it really forces a reconsideration. It’s the best example of what I think art can do, which is like, engender empathy. And that’s the moment when it happens. So, it kind of organically made sense for us.”
The Billboard Pop Shop Podcast is your one-stop shop for all things pop on Billboard‘s weekly charts. You can always count on a lively discussion about the latest pop news, fun chart stats and stories, new music, and guest interviews with music stars and folks from the world of pop. Casual pop fans and chart junkies can hear Billboard‘s deputy editor, digital, Katie Atkinson and senior director of Billboard charts Keith Caulfield every week on the podcast, which can be streamed on Billboard.com or downloaded in Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast provider. (Click here to listen to the previous edition of the show on Billboard.com.)