The ‘eternal sunshine’ Of Ariana Grande’s Genius Mind
Samantha Colleran, March 2024
One of the most highly anticipated releases of 2024 is finally upon us. Ariana Grande’s eternal sunshine has arrived; it’s been praised by magazines such as Rolling Stone, who marked it an instant classic, and within an hour of its release fans deemed it one of, if not her best, release to date. Navigating life post-divorce from real estate agent Dalton Gomez and getting swept up in one of the biggest media scandals of 2023 with Wicked co-star Ethan Slater, Ariana is ready to set the record straight and reclaim her image. Listeners are taken on a thirty five minute journey that will leave them with tear streaked cheeks and a feeling of hope in their chests. Collaborating with producer Max Martin and IYLA who have worked on some of the biggest pop hits of the 2010s, including many of Ariana’s previous releases, eternal sunshine is a well rounded body of work that showcases some of the best lyrics and strongest vocal performances of her career.
Ari kept much of eternal sunshine under wraps, apart from the only single prior to the album’s release, “yes, and?”, which interpolates Madonna’s 1990 hit “Vogue”. Taking its namesake from the 2004 film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet, one of Ariana’s favorite films, many fans were able to pinpoint specific references to the film and characters. The red aesthetic was inspired by Winslet’s character Clementine, and a few days before the release Ariana posted pictures to her Instagram where she emulated Clementine’s style and can be seen holding a teddy bear from a box of items associated with memories of an ex boyfriend. (These photos have since been revealed to be behind the scenes from the “we can’t be friends (waiting for your love)” music video, which takes the concept of Clementine and Joel (Carrey) erasing their memories of one another after going through a devastating breakup). Fans also noted that the first time Clementine is shown on screen is the timestamp 3:08, which correlates to the album’s release date of March 8th.
It’s apparent that Ariana had a clear vision when creating this album, which came together in three months. The album begins with a question (“How can I tell if I’m in the right relationship?” is the opening lyric to “intro (end of the world)”), and ends with an answer (“never go to bed without kissin’ goodnight / That’s the worst thing to do, don’t ever, ever do that / And if you can’t, and if you don’t feel comfortable doing it / You’re in the wrong place, get out”, spoken by Ariana’s Nonna at the end of “ordinary things”). Ariana takes listeners on a search for the answer to the question posed in the intro throughout the entirety of the album. We’re exposed to incredibly vulnerable moments that point out the downfall of her prior relationship; “I fall asleep cryin’ / You turn up the TV / You don’t wanna hear me / One more sleepless night” from the first verse of “don’t wanna break up again”, and from the first verse of the title track, “Can’t rearrange truth / I’ve never seen someone lie like you do / So much, even you start to think it’s true”. There are some glimmers of hope throughout where we see that she’s ready to love again, such as the chorus of “supernatural” (“It’s like supernatural / This love’s possessin’ me, but I don’t mind at all / It’s like supernatural / It’s takin’ over me, don’t wanna fight the fall”), and on album closer “ordinary things” where it appears that spending time with her significant other is more important than material things, “We could spend every dime / But I don’t want (Want) anything (‘Thing) / But more time”.
As a long time Ariana fan, it’s easy to admit that this is her most cohesive release to date. You can feel a little bit of each of her previous releases sprinkled throughout the album. It’s clear how much she has evolved as an artist and a performer, she has writing credits on nearly every track on the album and was directly involved in the production process. Ariana’s voice is as clear as ever, her tone has matured greatly and her vocals sound effortless across the entire project.
90s and early 2000s pop and R&B inspired the overall sound of eternal sunshine, with the previously mentioned interpolation of “Vogue” and an interpolation of Brandy and Monica’s “The Boy Is Mine” that has been one of the most talked about tracks on the album. While the original is a duet, Ariana speaks from one perspective and delivers an “[elevated] bad girl anthem” that she knew fans would love, “Watch me take my time / I can’t bеlieve my mind / The boy is divine / Boy is mine”. The track preceding “the boy is mine”, “true story”, sets up the bad girl anthem. Speaking about the track, Ariana stated that the song is an “untrue story based on untrue events”. She steps into the villain role that the media has pinned on her (“I’ll be the bad girl if you need me to”), and addresses the rumors she’s been the focal point of. It was a bold move on Ariana’s part, but fans and the general public alike have been receptive to it.
My personal favorite track off the album, and the one I immediately wanted to run back to the second the album concluded on my first listen, is “i wish i hated you”. Ari’s voice is incredibly delicate as it floats over the dreamy instrumentals, you can feel the pain in every note as she reflects on the end of a relationship. Hearing her voice break on the second to last “I wish I hated you” shattered my heart, it was such a vulnerable moment on the album that hasn’t left my mind since I first heard it. Although it’s been challenging to determine a solid top three, another standout track for me is “imperfect for you”. The way Ariana sings the phrase “imperfect for you” sounds as if she’s saying “I’m perfect for you”, a double meaning which shows that she may not be perfect, but she’s perfect for the subject of the song. Her performance of the track on SNL was simply stunning and solidified its spot in my favorites off the album.
At its core, eternal sunshine tells the story of a woman who has been through a lot, and has learned to heal from it all by falling in love with the little things in life. Ariana carries herself with so much grace and self awareness, it’s hard not to fall in love with the beauty of eternal sunshine. It’s a refreshing body of work from start to finish that has already made such a strong impact on listeners, and will continue to do so as time goes on. If you’ve listened to the album, I’d love to know your thoughts and your favorite track(s)!