loading: brighter days ahead
A Brief Commentary on Eternal Sunshine
On March 8, 2024, Ariana Grande released her seventh studio album, “Eternal Sunshine.” A year later, the deluxe edition has descended upon us, accompanied by a short film, brighter days ahead. Although Ariana has made it pretty clear that she is not necessarily interested in being a pop star to the level she has been doing it for over a decade, she still thought it not robbery to deliver this gift to her fans. As one of the biggest fans of Eternal Sunshine, I am thrilled to hear the additional tracks and watch the film. The songwriting on the standard edition is incredibly imaginative, and high-concept, while also being grounded in several emotional truths. It’s probably her most emotionally intelligent album to date. There’s some levity to the tracks, but overall, I would say the tactic to this breeziness was a way of expressing relief and freedom, rather than the levity feeling particularly humorous or fun. And it’s all covered by this gleaming y2k-leaning, yet still futuristic sheen, and of course, Grande’s out of this world vocals. This record has become my second favorite Ariana Grande album.
Eternal Sunshine ended up in my top ten albums of 2024 - you can read all about that plus more here. Apparently, it was also the first album I reviewed on Musicboard. Would you look at that! And I finally watched the album’s namesake, the 2004 film, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet. It was actually the last movie I watched in 2024. There are many things to take away from that film, but somehow, the thing that has stuck with me since is that we tend to fall in love with strangers, that powerful attachment and connection persevering in spite of removing the painful memories associated with the relationship. Perhaps the point is to continue loving strangers. I am not suggesting that getting to know a person will thus destroy the entire relationship. That would be ridiculous. I am simply saying that love can be pure without pain and without heartache. And that it’s worth it. I don’t know. People have been writing about that film for over two decades now, so if you’re unsatisfied with my two cents here, you can easily read something else on it!
A frequent returning motif in Ariana’s music is waking up, sleeping, resting, and dreaming. She uses the sleep cycle to represent falling in and out of love, especially in the public eye. Add apocalyptic imagery and language, and… you have an Ariana Grande record! This album builds on that, particularly positioning waking up as realization and a choice to end a relationship, while the imagination continues to grind its gears, dreaming of the past, the present and the future, watching life with a bird eye’s view. There is also a significant facet of Eternal Sunshine about being pulled around by fate, like the characters in the film ultimately trying to escape the erasure of the relationship. What are the things we try to hold onto desperately? What are the easier things to let go? How are we supposed to approach new relationships? I think Ariana explores that exquisitely throughout this album, while also acknowledging the procedure itself in the music video to “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait For Your Love).”
For this album, I do think she hit a home run in artistic achievement, vision and authenticity. I feel like this is the album where you really see so much of herself. It could have to do with her penning almost all of the songs alone, but something about this entire album feels incredibly intimate, like she’s letting us in on a secret. We get to be a part of the joke, a part of her world for these 35 minutes. It really does feel like a movie based on true events, while she continues to reframe the narrative and rewrite the story, almost in spite, since other people have been attempting to write her own story for over a decade now. And while I am not going to get into the whole drama in this newsletter, I will briefly speak on Yes, And, since it was the only song we heard before the album was released.
“Yes, And” falsely made me believe that we were getting a house/dance album from Ariana. Little did I know it was a red herring all along. It was the flashy, catchy, irresistible hook to Eternal Sunshine that didn’t let people know what to suspect, but made people shut up and listen. It was a re-introduction to Ariana Grande as a pop star to reinvigorate interest around her music instead of her personal life. It was cool, sleek and coy with a seductive edge. Ariana knows that she’s worthy of the conversation for who she is as an artist, and not who she sleeps with. She’s been adamant about this for as long as I can remember. While people focus a lot on her love life, perhaps the biggest takeaway, something that people conveniently forget, is all the talk around her body, her weight and more. This felt just as much of a response to her fans and anyone who commented on the way she looked than it did as a clapback at people who aimed homewrecking allegations against her. That’s the quiet power of Ariana - she can capture everyone’s attention, (this song debuted at number one after all) say what she needed to say and then continue on with the album. Absolutely brilliant.
In celebration of the release of the deluxe edition of Eternal Sunshine, I thought I’d do my official ranking of the album a year later. Remember, don’t take this too seriously. This is simply for fun. I have to put SOMETHING at the bottom of this list.
12. ordinary things
Favorite Lyric: “You hit just like the first sip of wine after a long day. You hit like my biggest fan when I hear what the critiques say.”
This might just be everyone’s least favorite. I’m not sure. I guess it’s fine as a closing track. It definitely puts a period on the end of the album, but I suppose I just find it a little boring? Which is funny, because it’s about nothing they do being ordinary. Essentially, it’s about how you should feel when you’re in love. I guess you really do just know and feel it in your bones. Eh… I like it, but not enough to put it anywhere else or have anything… substantial to say about it.
11. yes, and
Favorite Lyric: “Now I’m so done with caring, what you think, no, I won’t hide, underneath your own projections or change my most authentic life.”
Listen, I love a dance track as much as the next person, but as I alluded to earlier, this is really an outlier on the album, so it was going to either go closer to the top or to the bottom. And I made my choice! It sounds great, of course, automatically drawing comparisons to Madonna’s Vogue upon release… Actually, I made my own playlist of songs that yes, and reminded me of. I have since deleted the playlist, regrettably, but Vogue was definitely on there! This is a glorious healing track that announces that you have your own inner light that will shine through no matter what. The bridge is really where it’s at, and what makes me smile the most. It makes me snap my fingers. Not to mention that it clears the air officially and moves the hell on! Iconic.
10. don't wanna break up again
Favorite Lyric: Hope you won’t regret me, hope you still think fondly, of our little life.
So, everyone loves this song. It’s apparently a fan favorite! Yikes. Look, I love it too! But last year it was never among my favorite tracks and this year, nothing has changed! Overall, the mood is pretty laid back, which aids in the song’s content being about trying to break out of unhealthy relationship cycles. To be fair, it may be the only song on the album that made me gasp. Because what do you MEAN “you turn up the TV?” Excuse me??? I’m not going to pretend that this song doesn’t sound pretty. It’s gorgeous, really. I especially love the backing vocals on the chorus that support her decision to call off the relationship for good. The only way to explain this placement is that I just like the other tracks more and think it doesn’t have the highest replay value. don’t wanna break up again certainly didn’t end up on my Spotify Wrapped. Let’s just say that!
9. intro (end of the world)
Favorite lyric: If the moon went dark tonight, and if it all ended tomorrow, would I be the one on your mind?
Ariana is known for introducing us to her albums with a somewhat angelic, soft, and considered short interlude, usually under 90 seconds. This one, end of the world, really prepares us for what we’d be hearing on this album. There’s a hesitant and restless need to know that, in the face of the end of the world, that her current partner would be the one. It’s actually very sweet for its quiet pensiveness and uncertainty. Ariana teaches us there is beauty in the unknown because, at the very least, you get to breathe through it, and turn over all the what ifs. It really shows all that matters is the intimacy and the world that you create with your partner. She certainly isn’t asking us for our opinion! This is only for you, Ethan!
8. Saturn Returns Interlude/eternal sunshine
Favorite Lyric: “We both know I couldn’t change you . I guess you could say the same. Can’t rearrange truth.”
It’s time to wake up because Saturn has returned! I really loved this interlude going into the title track. It marks the major transition of your life (turning 29, which Ariana did in the creation of this album) and letting go of a past that did not work out. Ariana confronts her own feelings about a failed relationship and thinking about all of the things she could have done differently to change their ending. How do you actually move on especially when you can’t literally rewire your mind and rewrite fate? She’s already found her new beau, so she has no other choice but to accept that this guy will just remain in her past, while working through the pain he caused her. Love this track and how it almost sounds like she’s being reborn. Saturn! Returns!
7. we can’t be friends (wait for your love)
Favorite Lyric: I don’t wanna tiptoe, but I don’t wanna hide. But I don’t wanna feed this monstrous fire.”
Another fan favorite that I cannot bring myself to rank higher. Don’t get me wrong. It’s a gorgeous, gorgeous song. Like, I genuinely think it is spectacular and sensitive and special. I like that it takes a common phrase, typically about a romantic relationship and turns it on its head. I think the most poignant part of this song is how lonely and isolating fame is, even as you’re in the public eye and have millions of fans. While other people pretend to live through you vicariously, your life is your own and those same people are misinterpreting it and misrepresenting it and taking non-truths to be fact. Ariana beautifully reckons with the idea of being created and remade as a pop star, while learning to have ownership over her private life and her art. It’s quite the fascinating tune that has become a standout in her career.
6. true story
Favorite lyric: “For fun, you like to pray for my demise.”
It’s interesting that the song that probably touches most on her public image sounds the darkest sonically. It’s gritty and dirty and magnificent. There’s something sexy and mysterious about it too, like Ariana is playing a Siren, (the gimme love refrain reinforces this) drawing people into any scandalous and salacious stories, you know, the ones that don’t really exist! But as she mentions, she knows how to play the part. She knows what the people want and she won’t happily oblige, but she’ll certainly at least entertain the nonsense while being above it! It’s an incredibly smart song that holds space for both the public conversation that she knows she has no control over and for her own truth that she will always carry with her. At the end of the day, people really do make things up. It is an unfortunate part of being a pop star.
True story recognizes the hunger for such fantasies about her character while completely dismissing it. It’s absolutely useless to her. It’s almost like she’s telling ya’ll to keep playing with your food, while she watches on in calculated amusement. She is not buying into the culture of piranhas who have an insatiable taste for the blood of female artists, because at the end of the day, she loves herself and the people who dedicate their time to tearing her down… don’t! The production is sleek and as Ariana continues to demand to give her love, I have no choice but to listen.
5. I wish I hated you
Favorite Lyric: “Wish there was worse to you. I wish you were worse to me. Yeah, I wish I hated you.”
Emotions are a funny little concept, aren’t they? Why, oh why is it easier to commit to hating someone, and even wishing they treated you worse, than deal with the fallout and the complex mess of feelings that are left in your wake? Ariana stunningly and simply sings about it on this track, and probably gives the most emotional performance on the entire album. This song didn’t start in my top five, which is shocking, as I am known to adore a sad little ditty. But, as you can tell, it is now in my top five. How predictable of me.
4. imperfect for you
Favorite: “And usually I’m… messy, completely distressed, But I’m not like that since I met you.”
I really have no notes on this song. It’s a guitar-driven track, which is unusual for Ariana. I love how she directly acknowledges that her and her partner are these sort of bright flaming balls of anguish. They could absolutely blow up, and maybe they have already, but it’s okay, because they did it together. I don’t know… it’s a very sweet song that ultimately champions the intimacy two people can create as the world burns on. This is kind of Sweet Nothing’s sister if you really think about it.
3. the boy is mine
Favorite Lyric: “I’m usually so unproblematic, so independent, tell me why, ‘cause the boy is mine.”
This is how you do a throwback record! It sounds like it could fit right on the radio of the early aughts and still has the undeniable Ariana-print on it. She immediately slides onto the verses with an R&B cadence for the ages. The tone of her voice is fantastic. There’s a delightful innocence in the way she delivers the vocals too, like she can’t help it and it surprised her just as much as it did us. Very Helpless from Hamilton-core! There’s a continuation of Ariana describing a certain magnetic pull, the stars aligning and providing the ideal partner for her. Instead of running away from it, she faces it head-on, welcoming her destiny with an open mind, open legs and an open heart! Listen to me when I tell you, that cosmic love has never sounded so good!
2. bye
Favorite Lyric: This ain’t the first time I’ve been hostage to my tears.
I loved this immediately. This ended up in the coveted top five of my Spotify Wrapped. It’s the perfect way to kick off the album after the intro. As I mentioned before, this album covers the gamut of her relationship and eventual divorce from her ex-husband and the presence of a new relationship. So, it makes sense that the second track is all about the ending of one chapter in her life. There is something about it that feels like a celebratory kiss-off -- the liberation of leaving a relationship that no longer works is evident. But once we get to the bridge, we quickly realize that she needed to lead with this feeling. She mentions that the hook almost feels too hard to sing, and it seemed better to accept what she couldn’t change and change what she couldn’t accept! That’s when you know the therapy is working!
Anyways, I think the melodies here are deeply catchy and I love the emphasis the backbeat gives for the lyrics “it’s over, it’s over.” The vocal layering is absolutely phenomenal and the track almost ends up being a reclamation of her life and her peace. Choosing yourself has never sounded so good!
1. supernatural
Favorite Lyric: I want you to come claim it (I do). What are you waiting for?
Oh my gosh. I became obsessed with this song on first listen and I have only become more obsessed with it over time. This song might be the centerpiece of this album, as it describes love as some celestial force, determined by fate. This love is consuming her and even though it doesn’t yet have a definition or a label, she wants for it to be named! As mentioned on “eternal sunshine” she can’t rearrange truth. That’s just as applicable to a new love than it is to an old one. I also cannot ignore the ascending “I do’s” featured on this song. Wedding bells? Well, who knows! I just think it’s one of Ari’s best songs. No need to fight fate!
What’s your favorite track off of Eternal Sunshine? Let me know!