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Between 2016 and 2020, absolutely no one was a bigger popstar than Ariana Grande; she released four full-length studio albums, headlined two international tours, took home multiple GRAMMYs, and smashed records upheld by legendary artists like The Beatles. It's now been three and a half years since her last album, Positions, and Ariana has been pretty quiet.
Now she's back and more radiant than ever with her brand new seventh album eternal sunshine. This project shows that Grande has grown in almost every aspect of her life in her time away. Lyrically, she's rarely been so honest, free, reflective, and undoubtedly sure of herself. This album marks her production debut alongside longtime collaborator (and producer legend) Max Martin. Her unparalleled vocal range has somehow gotten even stronger. The woman who has always dominated the art of the radio hit single has intentionally released all but one of the album's thirteen tracks together as a complete project, proving she can produce a concept album just as well as individual pop smashes. The 35-minute eternal sunshine album is concise, dynamic, and doesn't have a single skip. As Ariana herself put it in her interview on the Zach Sang Show, "There is nothing more to say and it's exactly what I wanted to make, so I'm going to let it be."
Stand-out tracks: "true story" "we can't be friends (wait for your love)" "i wish i hated you"
My favorites: "bye" "supernatural" "imperfect for you"
Most of Ariana's albums have begun with an intro track, setting up the themes and imagery of the album. eternal sunshine opens with "intro (the end of the world)," which sees Ariana posing the questions, "How can I tell if I'm in the right relationship?/Aren't you really supposed to know that shit?/Feel it in your bones and own that shit?/I don't know." From the start, she's ready to take accountability for her heart having doubts and take responsibility for finding what she longs for.
When the relationship is wrong, it's wrong-- and Ariana doesn't hesitate to get away in captivating "bye," which is an immediate reminder that absolutely no one does pop like Ariana Grande. The twinkling, carefree disco-style chorus confidently stating "Boy, bye/It's over, it's over/Boy, bye/I'm taking what's mine" starts the album flawlessly. For diehard fans, the likely reference to her own "No Tears Left to Cry" with the line "Not the first time I've been hostage to these tears" is another reminder that through all her pain and growth, Ari has never changed at her core. And while she's always been vocally sensational, this track soars above even her standards.
The "Saturn Returns Interlude" is perfectly placed, shifting from the pain of the relationship ending in "bye" and "don't wanna break up again." This spoken interlude is essential to the story of eternal sunshine, explaining that around 29 years old, the age Ariana was just before creating the album, "Saturn comes along and hits you over the head and says, 'Wake up'/It's time for you to get real about life and sort out who you really are." This leads into a tonal shift, as Grande reflects on the past with title-track "eternal sunshine" and then progresses towards her new, more assured version of herself. And she does self-assurance with undeniable power; not a single other pop star on the planet besides Ariana could deliver a track like "supernatural." From its atmospheric production, immersive vocal layering, and understated sexiness, "supernatural" sees Grande finally embracing her newfound freedom: "It's like supernatural/It's taking over me, don't wanna fight the fall."
Grande is no stranger to media speculation, particularly about her relationships, and "true story" insinuates that, for the media, she'll "play the bad girl if you need me to/If it makes you feel better/I'll be the one you love to hate, can't relate." But when it comes right down to it, she controls her own life and narrative, particularly when the successive track is "the boy is mine." The sultriest track on the album, "the boy is mine" makes it clear that Ari "take[s] full accountability for all these tears," but she couldn't care less what the rest of the world has to say, as long as she's got the relationship that she believes is "simply meant to be."
Lead single "yes, and?" honestly doesn't stand out from the full album the way many lead singles do. It blends in as a middle-of-the-pack track with just enough click-bait-able lyrics to bring Ariana back to the forefront of pop music after her three-and-a-half-year hiatus. Its placement in the tracklist is a sassy, conclusive farewell to caring about the opinions of those who don't know her.
The true heart of eternal sunshine comes in the three-track run of "we can't be friends (wait for your love)," "i wish i hated you," and "imperfect for you." Here, Ariana navigates the unavoidable trauma and heartbreak of homewrecker accusations and "rearrag[ing her] memories" and "rewrit[ing her] life" in an attempt to save a failing relationship (and marriage). But these things finally allow her to embrace the "messy" and "imperfect" new beginnings of finding new love, both romantically and within herself.
That question asked in the intro of eternal sunshine, "How can I tell if I'm in the right relationship?," finds its answer in the album closer "ordinary things (feat. Nonna)." Ariana emerges as metamorphosized, self-assured, grounded, and blissfully in love with her life. The love she feels "hit[s] like my biggеst fan when I hear what the critiquеs say." Unlike her persona from 2019's "7 rings," Ariana "don't need no diamonds, just your time." The last notes of the album close with a voice note of Ariana's joyful laugh in response to her Nonna answering her exact question: "Never go to bed without kissin' goodnight...And if you can't...You're in the wrong place, get out."
AM I OBSESSED?
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