Last Friday Ariana Grande released her seventh studio album titled, “Eternal Sunshine.” This album marks Grande’s 1st studio album in four years since her last studio album, “Positions” was released in 2020. Though I am not a hardcore fan of Grande and wouldn’t classify myself as an Arianator, I was intrigued to see how Ariana’s musical style evolved over the past four years, prompting me to listen to the album and give my review on it!
Starting with the album cover, I’m absolutely obsessed with it! I love the dreamy filter that seems to appear on it and love how aesthetic it looks! I’m definitely very intrigued as to why Grande features herself twice in the album cover and I wonder if there’s a deeper meaning to that. I do have to say that I think this might be my favorite album cover of Grande’s thus far.
I listened to the album in chronological order starting off with “intro (end of the world)” and ending with “ordinary things.”
In the album’s first track, Grande questions if she’s in the right relationship and gets vulnerable, posing the question that many people in relationships face at some point: if their partner is the one for them. I loved the euphonious, soft, mellow vibe of this first track. I like how it wasn’t too mellow to the point of it being boring but also wasn’t too upbeat to the point of it being too chaotic as an opening track. I also thought it was really brave of Grande to come out about her divorce through her lyricism so for that reason I think this track is quite respectable.
I then listened to the album’s second track, “Bye.” Let me just say that I was not expecting to hear so much drama regarding her former relationship so early on in the album! In this track, Grande discusses leaving a relationship that she longed to work out but couldn’t. By the name of the track, one would think that this would be a devastating ballad on heartbreak but instead Grande turns this song about heartbreak into a powerful feminist anthem about self-confidence and celebrating independence. I loved this message and how carefree this song is, definitely making it one of my favorites on the album.
The album’s third track, “Don’t wanna break up again” was not the best in my opinion. I didn’t like the vocal effects on her voice in the intro. I thought this song contained too many background vocals that functioned as being distracting rather than adding to the melodious nature of the main vocals. I feel like this is a song that I could definitely hear myself listening to in stores or on the radio but I wouldn’t listen to it intentionally on my own.
The next track, “Saturn Returns Interlude” functions as a transition into the next track “Eternal Sunshine.” Despite not having any vocals of Grande herself in this spoken track, I enjoyed the background music of this track and its meaning as a whole regarding the pivotal moment in people’s lives in which they try to find their purpose and start to uncover their personal identity.
I was super excited to hear the album’s title track, “Eternal Sunshine.” This song surprised me as it’s both a pop and R&B song. I thought that this was an interesting switch up from Grande’s traditional genre of pop but in the best way possible. In this track Grande includes more lyrics alluding to a former partner cheating on her stating, “You played me like Atari” but states that even though has moved on she still considers her former partner her “eternal sunshine.” I enjoyed the beat drops within this song as well as the jaw-dropping lyricism but my expectations were higher because it’s the title track.
“supernatural” was a flashback from the past. In this song, Grande portrays the excitement one experiences at the beginning of a new relationship. This song reminded me a lot of Grande’s music in 2019 and I’m all here for it! Grande’s vocal layering in this song is perfect and I could definitely see myself dancing along to this song!
In the next track, “True Story” Grande allegedly claps back against the scrutiny she’s faced from the media over the past few months regarding her divorce and alleged affair with Ethan Slater, who she was confirmed to be dating following his divorce from Lilly Jay. My favorite lyric from this song was “I’ll play whatever part you need me to / And I’ll be good in it too.” I loved the post-chorus along with the outro. I also thought it was extremely bold of Grande to speak so openly about her alleged affair.
In track eight, “The Boy Is Mine” Grande recounts unintentionally falling head over heels for a new lover. I’m obsessed with this song’s chorus and love the vocal effect she did on “Divine.” This song is undoubtedly being added to my summer playlist.
The next track was Grande’s single, “Yes, and?” Though many dislike this song, it was one of my personal favorites. I thought it was the perfect single as it sets the theme for the album being one about self-confidence and not caring about what others have to say. My favorite lyric from this song is, “Your business is yours and mine is mine.”
“We can’t be friends (wait for your love)” was the next track. I highly recommend tissues to anyone listening to this song for the first time. In this song, Grande touches on the idea of wanting to be with someone but not being able to because of poor timing and irreconcilable differences. I think Grande did an excellent job at conveying the complexity of loving someone but knowing that jumping into a relationship with said person is far from a good idea. I loved the vulnerability of this track and how Grande ended the song on a very optimistic note and changed her perspective on her split from said person from a time of heartbreak to a time of reflection and opportunity.
The next track was “I Wish I Hated You.” In this track, Grande discusses her desire to hate a former lover but not being able to because they never hurt her and she still carries so much love for them. I thought this was a very sweet idea and loved the imagery of shadows dancing in “a parallel plane” and rearranging memories. I was already on the verge of tears listening to this song and when I heard the crack in Grande’s voice at minute 2:04 I knew I was done for.
Before I knew it, I was at track 12, “imperfect for you.” In this track, Grande delves into the perfect and beautiful nature of a seemingly imperfect relationship where both partners are flawed. I loved the chorus and the romanticism of imperfections and one’s raw self that this song discusses. I think this was a perfect choice for the second to last track of the album.
Last came the closing track, “ordinary things.” This song essentially functions as Grande reflecting on the idea of nothing being ordinary or boring when in the presence of a loved one. This song essentially functions as a tribute to Grande’s grandmother which I thought was so sweet. The track ends with an audio of Grande’s grandmother telling her that if one can’t bring themselves to kiss their partner good night, that is not the right relationship for them. I thought this was a perfect closing track as it ultimately functions as closure to Grande’s messy divorce and instead shifts the focus towards familial relationships rather than romantic ones.
Ultimately, I came out of this album being a bigger fan of Grande than I was before. I think this might be my favorite album of Grande’s so far.
After I listened to the album, I decided to interview fellow high schoolers to find out what they thought about Grande’s album.
Shana Balamurugan, a junior at ERHS, was extremely satisfied with the album’s title track.
“I randomly chose to listen to ‘Eternal Sunshine’ from Ariana Grande’s new album! I honestly really like it!” Balamurugan said. “It’s a song I would listen to and add to my vibey-er playlist. It reminds me of summer nights [or] a girl’s night out.”
Longtime Arianator, Audrina Aguilar thought Grande’s album did not fail to disappoint.
“It’s so good! I love ‘eternal sunshine’ and ‘we can’t be friends (wait for your love),'” Aguilar said.
