Music
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All the songs from Encanto, ranked
In honour of Encanto In Concert touring the UK this summer, we’ve ranked all 8 songs from the Disney film
It’s one of Disney’s biggest successes, not just cinematically, but musically. Encanto topped the UK Singles Chart with ‘We Don’t Talk About Bruno’ for seven consecutive weeks and became the most successful compilation album of 2022. The eight songs featured in the film are so beloved that its no wonder they’ve inspired an Encanto In Concert tour, an opportunity for fans to see the entire film soundtracked live by a full orchestra in venues around the UK. But which track will be the highlight?
Ahead of the tour this summer, we’ve ranked every song from Encanto from our favourite to… still our favourite. There are no losers here.
8. Colombia, Mi Encanto
As stated, there is no worst on the Encanto soundtrack, and this upbeat closer does a great job at sending the audience off on an uplifting note. A traditional Colombian vallenato sung by Grammy award-winning artist Carlos Vives, ‘Colombia, Mi Encanto’ is a foot-tapping good time and very far from a misstep. That said, when the narrative songs work as well as they do in this particular case, it’s a tall order for any non-diegetic number to rival them.
7. Waiting On A Miracle
The song that prompted people in living rooms all over the world to pull up IMDb mid-movie and exclaim: “Guess what? That’s Stephanie Beatriz.” Whilst ‘Waiting On A Miracle’ doesn’t quite reach the heights of other character songs in Encanto, it’s a pleasantly melancholy twist on the Disney ‘I Want’ song sincerely delivered by Beatriz.
6. The Family Madrigal
Lin Manuel Miranda truly shows off in this opening number – no complaints here. In just over four minutes we’re introduced to not only the main conflict of the story – Mirabel’s status as the family outsider – but also to twelve different characters and their defining characteristics. It’s a bit too much to take in in just one listen but the lyrics of this one are a treat to dig into.
5. What Else Can I Do?
Whilst Isabela’s moment of self-realisation isn’t one of Encanto’s defining tracks, it’s still a brilliant offering. Catchy, sparkly and heartfelt, in subject matter it serves almost as the film’s ‘Let It Go’: a track about shaking off the weight of other’s expectations and exploring who you really want to be. It also offers an opportunity for reconciliation between the two sisters and allows Mirabel to see Isabela as a complex human being, rather than an obstacle in Mirabel’s own story.
4. All Of You
Several Disney musicals in the past have done without a finale song, with the soundtrack jumping straight from a middle-of-the-story number to whatever non-diegetic track plays over the closing credits. ‘All Of You’ proves that it’s a mistake not to musically wrap things up – Miranda lines up emotional payoffs like skittles in this big closer, dishing out happy endings left and right. If you didn’t tear up when the rest of the town offered their assistance to the Madrigals in a joyful chorus, we weren’t watching the same movie.
3. Dos Oruguitas
Although not sung by any of the characters in the film, ‘Dos Oruguitas’ is definitely Encanto’s biggest tearjerker. A truly beautiful stripped-back moment, it soundtracks Abuela Alma’s journey from grieving widow to keeper of the miracle, as Sebastian Yatra sings about love, loss and accepting change. Critically acclaimed and Oscar-nominated, whilst ‘Dos Oruguitas’ doesn’t do what Encanto’s top two do narratively, as a composition it certainly deserves all the praise.
2. Surface Pressure
One of Disney’s best ever character solos isn’t sung by a protagonist or a villain, but a side character. Jessica Darrow gives a fantastic performance as the supernaturally strong Luisa who battles against her own demons to be a source of strength for the rest of her family. That super catchy chorus, those candid lyrics (“I’m pretty sure I’m worthless if I can’t be of service”), that growled “No mistakes”… ‘Surface Pressure’ is all excellence.
1. We Don’t Talk About Bruno
It had to take the top spot. Sure, your kids wouldn’t stop singing it for so many weeks on end that you started to hear it in your sleep, but ‘We Don’t Talk About Bruno’ really does deserve the hype. The lyricism is incredibly sharp, it’s funny and playful, each character gets a verse musically tailored to them, and all the parts build together gloriously. It’s stuck in your head for a reason.
Encanto In Concert will be visiting venues across the UK this July and August. Find tickets here.
