Eternal Sunshine marks the seventh studio album by pop-singer, Ariana Grande. Eternal Sunshine comes after over three years of no music releases. This new album has built tremendous anticipation within her fanbase, especially after her divorce with Dalton Gomez and the drama surrounding her new relationship with boyfriend, Ethan Slater. Fans figured the album would allow Grande to tell her side of the story and express her feelings on the past few years.
Grande goes out of her way to call out her opposers in the track, “True Story.” This track emits a 90’s aesthetic as her vocals ascend during the chorus. Her voice is filled with soul and peppered with Destiny’s Child as she sings in the background.
Grande shared the female artists she has been inspired by since the beginning of her career. In an interview with Zach Sang, she revealed, “My idol is Mariah and Imogen Heap and I feel like I sit somewhere in between the two of them. That’s where my brain learned everything.” You can hear those inspirations throughout the album. It is endearing to know that legendary artists also look up to other legendary artists.
This record is her most mature project, eliminating subjects about one-night stands and flaunting her wealth like in her past album, Thank U, Next. In Eternal Sunshine, Grande digs into her psyche. She tells a story between two people, their differences, and how that affects each other’s dynamic resulting in the end of the relationship.
In her title track, “Eternal Sunshine” she opens with a very soothing introduction following “Saturn Returns Interlude.” A Saturn Return is known to represent the next stage in your life as Saturn orbits back to its original place from the day you were born. It generally occurs at the end of your 20s, 50s, and 80s, according to astrologer Chani Nicholas. Grande talks about leaving her previous relationship after divorcing her ex-husband Dalton Gomez. Grande speaks on her side of the story and the supposed infidelity that took place within her past relationship as she sings the lyrics, “So now we play our separate scenes/ Now, now she’s in my bed, layin’ on your chest/ Now I’m in my head, wonderin’ how it ends.”
Most of the songs on this album have somber lyrics written over upbeat production, which is symbolic to Grande enduring countless hardships throughout her career, yet still maintaining a positive attitude and encouraging acts of kindness to her fanbase. Grande expressed in her interview with Zach Sang that she wanted to have grace for the subjects of her songs while still staying true to her feelings, such as her second track “bye.” Grande claims her independence and builds the courage to leave a relationship that was no longer serving her. She shared in the interview that her inspiration for this song was her mom. Grande had taken inspiration from her mother’s prior experience to leave her own relationship.
This album is very vulnerable and vocally versatile, which is important for artists no matter the field. Although Grande is known for her high falsettos and whistle notes, another track which is produced by one of her long-time collaborators, Max Martin, showcases her lower register on “Imperfect For You.” She gushes over having a relationship with someone who accepts her and all her imperfections. She reflects that sentiment by singing off key in the chorus, which gives a quirky but catchy essence to the song.
This album centered around grieving and loss, while also appreciating the good that is left. This is Grande’s most honest body of work after her divorce and the online bullying she received over her current relationship with Ethan Slater, a Broadway actor. She released the first single to the album, “yes, and?” back in January, as she sings the lyrics, “Yes, and?/ Say that shit with your chest, and/ Be your own fuckin’ best friend/ Say that shit with your chest/ Keep movin’ like, ‘What’s next?’” This song allowed herself to break free from the criticism and not let it affect her or her loved ones anymore.
She ends the album with words of wisdom by her grandmother, Nonna, in the track, “Ordinary Things.” Her grandmother says in the last lines of the song, “And if you can’t, and if you don’t feel comfortable doing it, you’re in the wrong place/get out.” These last lines are in correlation to the first lines of the album, “How can I tell if I’m in the right relationship? / Aren’t you really supposed to know that shit?” Nonna answers Grande’s question in the track as the outro.
Although I had more favorite songs on this album than her previous work, I would not say this is her best album, but it highlights Grande’s growth and maturity since the last time we heard her in 2020. Her vocal range has become stronger and her storytelling has become more apparent in this project more than any other in her career.
