Encanto Songs
How many songs are in Encanto?
Encanto boasts eight songs in the film, plus instrumental scores.
What are the Encanto songs called?
The Encanto songs, in order of their appearance in the film, are “The Family Madrigal,” “Waiting on a Miracle,” “Surface Pressure,” “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” “What Else Can I Do?,” “Colombia, Mi Encanto,” “Dos Oruguitas” and “All of You.”
“The Family Madrigal”
“The Family Madrigal” is the first song in Encanto, in which Mirabel Madrigal (voiced by Stephanie Beatriz of Brooklyn Nine-Nine fame) introduces village kids (and the viewer) to her magical Madrigal family and each of their gifts. Songwriter Lin-Manuel Mirandatold The Los Angeles Times that “The Family Madrigal” was inspired by “Belle,” the first song featured in the Disney animated classic Beauty and the Beast. She sings the song as an outsider looking in on the powers of everyone else—and avoiding answering when asked what her own magical abilities are.
“Waiting on a Miracle”
Mirabel (Beatriz) sings “Waiting on a Miracle” after her family overlooks her —and she watches her young cousin get a magical gift on his fifth birthday while she still feels that she doesn’t have any superpowers of her own. Mirabel laments about wanting to fit in with the rest of the magical Madrigals.
“Surface Pressure”
Jessica Darrow sings the Encanto song “Surface Pressure” as Luisa, designated as “the strong one” in the Madrigal family. Luisa feels she can’t show any weakness at any time and has to keep everything together—while smashing boulders, lifting impossible weights, and tackling everyone else’s problems. Luisa sings of her own crippling inner insecurity and codependency, “Under the surface, I feel berserk as a tightrope walker in a three-ring circus / Under the surface / Was Hercules ever like ‘Yo, I don’t wanna fight Cerberus?’ / Under the surface I’m prеtty sure I’m worthless if I can’t be of sеrvice.” “Surface Pressure” reached No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100. Miranda said that his own real-life sister inspired “Surface Pressure.” He explained on PBS NewsHour, “That song is my love letter and apology to my sister. I watched my sister deal with the pressure of being the oldest and carrying burdens I never had to carry … I put all of that angst and all of those moments into Luisa.”
“We Don’t Talk About Bruno”
“We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” ironically, features all of the members of the family Madrigal talking about Bruno. Portrayed as a villain, Bruno, who had the gift of prophecy and precognition, is regarded as a bit of a curse on the brood, with the family believing that when he tells a family member of their future, they’re locked into the worst imaginable version of that fate. Each family member gets a solo to tell of their own experiences with and beliefs about the family outcast (played by John Leguizamo). “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” surpassed Frozenstaple “Let It Go” as the highest-charting song from a Disney film in the 21st century, hitting No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100—and dethroning none other than chart queen Adele! Fun fact: Bruno was originally named Oscar in early drafts of the film, but Miranda requested the name be changed to Bruno to accommodate the “no, no, no” refrain.
“What Else Can I Do?”
Diane Guerreroas Isabela gets the spotlight in “What Else Can I Do?” a lament on the pressures and pursuit of perfection. As she creates flowers and a cactus, Isabela reveals she’s sick of her seemingly charmed, aesthetically pleasing existence and is desperate to feel something real and discover what she’s truly capable of when she’s not maintaining her beautiful and flawless appearance. She thanks Mirabel for helping her to break out of her own shell and comfort zone.
“Colombia, Mi Encanto”
Carlos Vivessays that “Colombia, Mi Encanto” is a song close to his heart. He told Smithsonian, “It’s very important that the world gets to know a little bit more about the heart of Colombians. Disney is a great window for this. Historically, it has been very difficult for us to compete with so much evil, with all of the negative news. But for all that Colombia has in difficulty,it has far more heart.” He added, “There are incredible things in Colombia, exemplary people. So I think the movie shows a bit what it’s like to live that Colombianidad apart from so many difficult things, historically speaking. Truthfully it makes me very happy that they made such an effort to try and understand a country like Colombia.”
“Dos Oruguitas”
Performed by Sebastián Yatra, “Dos Oruguitas” plays as Abuela Alma Madrigal (María Cecilia Botero) reflects on her losing her husband to the battle that took over her town in Colombia—but that ultimately gave the family their magical abilities. Miranda told Billboard that the song, about caterpillars turning into butterflies and the themes of growing apart being a part of growing as a whole, “feels like the heart of the movie.”
“All Of You”
The entire family Madrigal joins forces for the closing Encanto song, “All Of You.” The feel-good ballad reveals that the actual magic is in all of us—and gives Bruno a chance to apologize and explain himself to the family members!
Did Lin-Manuel Miranda write Encanto?
Miranda didn’t write the film Encanto, but he wrote the songs for the film. He gushed to PEOPLEof the soundtrack’s success, “It’s really humbling. I’m here talking to you because of the golden era of Disney musicals from 1989 through 1994, where [Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin composers] Alan Menken and Howard Ashman just could not stop writing hit songs. And that’s what made me fall in love with musicals.” “When I write, I’m chasing this feeling I had when I saw Sebastian the crab start singing ‘Under the Sea’ — this total weightlessness, probably my first real goosebumps moment in a movie theater,” he added. “I’m writing to that nine-year-old version of me. So to not only be in their company but to have created something that is resonating with kids now, means more than I can say.”
Is “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” No. 1?
“We Don’t Talk About Bruno” hit the No. 1 spot not just on the Billboard Hot 100, but also on the Billboard Global 200—a huge feat! As of the Feb. 12, 2022 chart, “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” was on its second week at the top of the charts. The song’s success came as a pleasant surprise to Miranda, though he jokes that he had a hint of how good it was when he first started writing it. “I haven’t told this to anyone before, but when I was writing this it was April or May of 2020 and I was in lockdown with my in-laws, who were staying with us because they are sort of the most vulnerable population. And I should have known this song was good, because my father-in-law was like, ‘Lin, I normally don’t say anything about what you do, but I haven’t been able to stop singing that ‘Bruno’ thing for like a week,’” he recalled to PEOPLE. “And this was before anyone knew who it was. He just heard me singing that from my room when I was writing it. So that should have been the tip-off way back when.”
How many streams does “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” have?
At the time of this writing, “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” has 124.6 million streams on Spotify and 191.6 million on YouTube (plus another 12.1 million for the YouTube version without the actual animation). That number will likely only continue to rise as the song gains more and more popularity. Next, check out 75 happy songs to bring a smile to your face!
