Ariana Grande’s Eternal Sunshine Delivers a Dancing Dreamscape of loss, light and new love
Ariana Grande has returned with her seventh studio album, Eternal Sunshine, a pop and R&B concept album. It’s her first body of work since the 2020 release of her album Positions, and much like Thank You Next, was worked on in a very short time after the beginning of the SAG-AFTRA strike, which paused the production of the musical film Wicked, in which Grande currently plays Glinda the Good Witch.
Firstly, it must be said the concept of the album is clever and plays into the idea of “blissful ignorance” and the crash back to reality. The title track is inspired by the 2004 Jim Carey film, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, in which a couple both separately undergo a procedure to erase their memories of each other, only then for Carey’s character to realise he is still in love with his girlfriend.
The album features in Ariana’s own words, a mixture of bops and sad mid-tempo songs, and boy, did she deliver. Opening with a soft melodic composition in Intro – End of the World, Ariana is contemplating her relationship and overthinking her position in her life. She soulfully asks if she’d be the one at the end of the world in her lover’s mind. In contrast, Bye, one of the strongest tracks of the album sings about the raw feeling of a new breakup. The song projects a positive take on a breakup as Grande declares, ‘boy bye, I’m takin’ what’s mine’. Bye for me is one of the standout tracks of the album that makes you want to dance around your room with tear-stained cheeks and scream your heart out.
As the album continues, Grande uses catchy beats and direct lyrics to address the angst, turmoil and sadness to address the breakdown of the relationship on both sides, as well as the potential blossoming of a new relationship and attraction to a new man.
It’s speculated the album is, in particular, speaking about her public breakup and the divorce of her relator ex-husband, Dalton Gomez, who she started dating in 2020. Compared to earlier acoustic love songs such as Stuck With U, the lyricism on this album hones in on the brutal reality of a relationship breaking down.
The album’s title track opens with a trap-like beat which helps Grande to drop bombshells left, right and centre with damning lyrics such as “I hope you feel alright when you’re in her”. You might think this line is outrageous, but it’s a refreshing change and direction for Grande, who directly addresses rumours of cheating and a mystery new relationship with a “good boy who is on [her] side” in Eternal Sunshine.
Ariana adds some elements into the album for fans in True Story with a sexy, funky beat, which is reminiscent of the leaked TikTok trending track Fantasize, which was originally written for a TV show. Grande told Zack Sang she gave fans “Ariana’s version of that on the album” and in True Story, she switches the narrative, calling out the lies and refusing to be coined with a bad image.
With her melt-like-honey voice, Grande lays heavily into R&B influences for the direction of the album, which producer Max Martin should be patting himself on the back for! Suiting Ariana’s vocal range is what the genre of R&B does best. Ariana pays an ode to the Brandy and Monica hit, The Boy Is Mine with a track of the same title which gives listeners a sultry song, reminiscent of Fantasize in its lyrics and sexiness in a bad girl anthem.
It wouldn’t be an Ariana Grande album without some pop bops, and on the ninth track, we get into the first single for the album. Yes, And? While people online compared the song to something that belongs in a retail playlist, almost two months later, it still holds up. Grande has transitioned from second-guessing herself in her relationship and perceptions to being sure of herself, her identity and her heart.
In the last quarter of the album, the second single We Can’t Be Friends, (Wait For Your Love) takes fans on a journey of being patient and soulfully waiting for someone’s love. It’s beautifully ambiguous because this could be a reference to the public, an ex or a current lover, given the lyric “monstrous fire”, and to me, it’s an address to the tabloids and their contribution to the backlash of her personal life. Choosing this particular track as the second single makes sense creatively in the story Grande is trying to tell, but it doesn’t have the oomph that tracks such as Bye for me to justify it being a single if we’re picking from the dancefloor hits on the album.
Dreamy vibes encompass each song, and sonically, the album flows as smoothly as the slow current of a river. The penultimate and last tracks of the album take on a new lease of life and hope looking towards an optimistic future. Similes are used to describe all the new things the singer loves about her new partner and how all these things make him and their love feel special, even if they are ordinary things. As a side note, the feature of Ariana’s Nonna was beautiful and added to the personability of the album.
As a body of work, Eternal Sunshine is a cohesive thirteen-track story of fighting for a broken relationship, breakups, living authentically and stepping into the light of new love and opportunities. The idea of Saturn returning every 29 years is a genius part of the album’s imagery and summarises the story of the album perfectly. As Ariana herself told Zane Lowe, the change came with her listening to herself and understanding her feelings, a relatable part of life that all fans can relate to.
