By AARON QUINONES
Staff Writer
Ariana Grande is back with her brand new album Eternal Sunshine, after having fans wait approximately three years. Grande has been pursuing other things in the industry like her makeup brand R.E.M Beauty, and shooting for the movie Wicked that is set to release Nov. 27, 2024.
On Dec. 7, 2023, Grande posted pictures of her recording music in the studio, which drove fans crazy as they didn’t expect her to release music anytime soon.
Shortly after she released her first single, Yes,and? on Jan. 7. After Yes,and? reached number one on the Billboard Top 100, Grande officially announced her album Eternal Sunshine, set to release March 1.
Eternal Sunshine opens up with Intro (End of the world), which introduces the listeners to the central theme of the entire album. Grande asks multiple questions over an understated guitar strum and faux-romantic strings, “How can I tell if I’m in the right relationship?”, “If the sun refused to shine, baby would I still be your lover?”. Overall this intro is one of her best intros from all her albums as it showcases her vulnerability within her relationships.
Things take an upbeat turn as Bye is the next song on the tracklist. Grande sings about her breakup from ex-husband Dalton Gomez. Ariana recalls the last moments when she was with her ex-husband and talks about how one of her best friends, Courtney Chipolone, drove to Ariana’s house to pick her up after they broke up. Grande reveals that her and her ex-husband are officially over and that she’s taking what’s hers back. Bye is a great song that has a lot of potential to become a hit.
Next up on the album is don’t wanna break up again, straight out the gate, Ariana reveals that one night she fell asleep crying and her ex-husband Dalton Gomez turned up the tv while she was crying because he didn’t wanna hear her. She also reveals she tried getting them both into therapy, but he didn’t even try and when he did try it was at the wrong time. Don’t wanna break up again is a sad song but many people can relate to the things Ariana went through which helps us connect with her through this song.
The album then takes a quick break with Saturn Returns Interlude which is just a quick message to everyone listening. The lady says “It’s time for you to get real about life and sort out who you really are”.
Eternal Sunshine, which is the title track, talks about one of her previous relationships, which fans speculate, is about Dalton Gomez. She talks about this ex significant other being her eternal sunshine. Grande made it seem like this ex was the negative one in the relationship. “We both know I couldn’t change you”, “I’ve never seen someone lie like you do”.
Eternal Sunshine also talks about Ariana and her ex’s new relationships and how they have both moved on with their lives and found new people.
Track number six is Supernatural and unlike the previous songs on the album, Ariana starts to open up about her new relationship with Wicked co-star Ethan Slater. She sings about how the love between them is possessing her and how it feels supernatural.
One of the best songs on the album is track number seven, True Story. In this very R&B influenced song, Ariana talks about being okay with being viewed as the bad person in not only the media but in the view of her exes. Grande does amazing belting in this song along with amazing harmonies that just makes you wanna vibe with the song.
The next song on the album is The boy is mine. Grande in an interview with Zach Sang says that, “The boy is mine is a re-imagined version of Brandy and Monica’s track of the same title.” This song is slightly controversial as Ariana Grande has been known to allegedly take other people’s significant others from them. Through this track she seems to admit to it by even saying “I take full accountability for all these tears,” which tells us listeners that she knows what she’s doing and takes responsibility for making the other woman cry. This song is definitely one of the standouts on the album, as it’s very well produced.
Yes, and? is the next track on eternal sunshine, This song is clearly inspired by pop icons like Madonna and Mariah Carey. It’s a very catchy song and can get a lot of people dancing, but unfortunately listening to all the other songs on the album Yes, and? just doesn’t stand out like other songs on the album do.
The album soon slows down with track number ten We can’t be friends (Wait for your love). This song is about waiting for the right time to fall in love with the person you are currently in love with. Ariana takes a different route singing with a soft voice. This song sounds like it could be in a romance movie.
I wish I hated you, is the next song on the tracklist. Grande gets very emotional about her past relationship and expresses how she tries to force herself to hate her ex but she just can’t. Ariana’s transparency throughout this song just makes you connect to this song so easily. She even begins to cry while singing towards the ending of the song.
Track number twelve is Imperfect for you, the chorus is very catchy as she talks about being imperfect for her lover. It’s a beautiful song that you can relax and reflect on.
The final song on this album is Ordinary Things, which features her Grandmother Nonna. Ariana’s Grandmother is the only person to be featured on this album, as she gives listeners a tiny speech towards the end of Ariana’s song. Nonna tells listeners to “Never go to bed without kissin’ goodnight. That’s the worst thing to do, don’t ever ever do that and if you can’t, and if you don’t feel comfortable doing it, you’re in the wrong place, get out.” Nonna’s speech is a beautiful way to close the album and wrap up on what the album is supposed to be about. Overall Ariana Grande’s Eternal Sunshine album is definitely a step up from her last album Positions. Ariana wasn’t afraid of getting vulnerable with listeners and gave us a life update on her love life both the good parts and the bad. Ariana also tells her side of the story on her divorce and clears up some rumors that the media has made about her.
