A polyphonic salsa show tune with lyrics an AI might have spit out (“I associate him with the sound of falling sand!”) is the first great pop-music mystery of 2022. This week, “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” from the Disney animated film Encanto, has dethroned Adele to take the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100. In recent history, no comparable song exists to explain its success. The ubiquity of “Bruno” is strange and a bit menacing, like the magical uncle described by the lyrics.
Yet “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”—written by Lin-Manuel Miranda and performed by an ensemble that includes Carolina Gaitán, Mauro Castillo, Adassa, Rhenzy Feliz, Diane Guerrero, and Stephanie Beatriz—can also be thought of as the culmination of several trends, making it the most 2022 song possible. Understanding its popularity helps explain a number of things about what else has been big in music, and culture, lately.
Read the entire The Atlantic article here.
