Hello, hello and welcome back to the happiest blog on earth! I hope you are all having a FANTASTIC week and enjoying the beautiful weather (as I’m writing this on Wednesday, it is currently 50 degrees, and I couldn’t be happier). For today’s post, we’re going to take a hiatus from Disney Parks content (shocker, I know), and instead talk a bit about music. If you know me, you probably know that two of my favorite things are Disney World and music, so let’s combine the two!
I’m sure you’ve all heard of Disney’s newest movie, Encanto. This new movie has basically become an overnight success. A few of its songs also have risen to success. As of Monday, the song, “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” has topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the second week in a row. According to Billboard.com, this is the first ever Disney song from an animated film to top the chart for multiple weeks in a row. The only other song from an animated Disney film to top the chart for only one week was “A Whole New World” from Aladdin. Honestly, “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” holding that honor for two weeks is kind of shocking to me. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a really good song, but I think there’s another song from the soundtrack that deserved the place. That song is “Surface Pressure.”
After my family watched the movie over break, we were singing the songs for weeks (and still are), but one song that particularly stuck with me was “Surface Pressure.” A few weeks after coming back to school, my mom called me, excited to tell me about an interview she heard on the radio about this song. In the interview, the writer of the song, the incredible Lin Manuel-Miranda, was talking about how he wrote this song about his older sister, Luz Miranda-Crespo. 
If you listen to the lyrics, the character Luisa is singing about all the pressure she feels to take care of her siblings and make sure no one else has any burdens to carry. As an older sister, this completely resonated with me.
I can sympathize with Luisa as I have felt like this my whole life. Now, everytime I hear the song, it brings tears to my eyes, thinking about my little sisters and how much I want to protect them but how crushing the weight of that responsibility truly is.
While if it were up to me, this would be the song topping the charts, not “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” I do understand the hype around the latter. It’s a catchy song and easy to sing, and the chorus has become one of the most trending sounds on TikTok right now with 605.4k videos using the sound. Bruno is also a character that is so much more complex than what’s apparent at first glance. All-in-all, it’s a good movie with a few total bops of songs, not to mention the fact that the impeccable Lin Manuel-Miranda wrote all the songs.
Also, please excuse my lack of exciting images. My computer is being stupid and won’t let me upload much.
I wish I could comment more on the actual content of the songs (I haven’t seen this movie), but I think you hit the nail on the head with why “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” was #1 for two weeks in a row, over a song that’s more meaningful: it’s catchy. And, in terms of popularity (measured by listening frequency), I would bet that’s the most important factor. Sad songs, while they are usually good and appreciated, just don’t get listened to as much.
But great post! I always find it interesting how the increasing quality of movie songs makes them some of the most popular in the world, even above music produced for a more standard medium.
I have yet to watch “Encanto”, but I plan to in the near future. I have only heard the songs on TikTok, but even then they are super catchy. Also, I had no idea Lin Manuel-Miranda wrote music for this movie. Although I am not a huge musical theater person, Hamilton was a work of pure genius. This makes me want to watch “Encanto” even more now. I wonder how the movie will be incorporated into the parks in the coming months!
I haven’t watched Encanto yet, but I have heard this song a lot. I’m the oldest sister too, and it really does hit home. I have one younger sister and I’ve always been her person- the one she comes to for help with homework or to just talk to. I absolutely agree that surface pressure should be a bigger deal than we don’t talk about Bruno. I definitely feel like I need to watch the movie now though!
I haven’t seen the movie Encanto yet, but my roommate told me that the movie and the soundtrack were really good. I also agree with you I think a lot of kids do feel the burden to look out for their siblings and family. Even though I’m the youngest I still feel a sense of responsibility to look after my sister and my parents. I enjoyed your take on the movie and the personal touch of your post. I’m looking forward to watching the movie
“Surface Pressure” was the song that made me want to see Encanto. Luisa’s character was super appealing, especially how they gave her a personality outside of her gift. I agree with the popularity of WDTAB being in its catchiness. That song definitely sticks more even if its content isn’t as much as Luisa’s song.