After remaining silent amid media exploitation blasting her relationships, Ariana Grande’s new album “eternal sunshine” allows her to vocally come back at all criticism, responding with “yes, and?” Grande’s seventh studio album solidified its spot as No.1 on the Billboard 200 Album chart with 12 songs placed on the Billboard Top 100 chart.
Though many tabloids have bombarded Grande’s feed with stories about her relationship status, she expressed through her new music that she is unconcerned about anyone’s opinions and remains self-assured.
In the first promotional single released for the album “yes, and” Grande sings about how to deal with tough situations. She voices to her supporters to “Keep moving like / “What’s next?”’ Grande is transparent to her critics in the song, vocalizing, “Don’t comment on my body, do not reply / Your business is yours / And mine is mine.” Grande makes it clear she is well aware of what the media says about her by poking fun at them for caring so deeply about her encounters.
Grande’s album features an array of songs about going through the turmoil of a breakup to feeling confident and finding new love. Grande in the intro song questions how it feels to be in love and if her partner would be by her side when the world ends. The song opens the album for listeners to understand Grande’s feelings and her “true story” in musical format.
After pondering on her partner’s true motives in the intro song, “bye” follows as the second song on the album and many believe it is the best track. Throughout the song, Grande’s signature angelic voice is featured in hitting high notes. The song “bye” is raw and personal while it motivates listeners to overcome and leave a toxic relationship. Grande sings, “Didn’t think you’d lose me / Now it’s just too late to choose me,” cultivating her listeners to focus on self-values.
The album makes its mark as one of the most vulnerable albums to add to Grande’s discography with the next song “Don’t wanna break up again.” This song vocalizes the battle one endures when seeking to leave a partner. Grande sings in a breathy tune, “I’m too much for you / So I really gotta do / The thing I don’t wanna do,” expressing the emotional turmoil one faces when struggling to leave a long-term relationship.
An interlude entitled “Saturn Returns” follows the beginning songs to showcase how Grande had experienced Saturn Return after she celebrated her 29th birthday. Astrologer Diana Garland says in the interlude, “And the Saturn cycle takes around, about twenty-nine years / That’s when we gotta wake up and smell the coffee,” alluding to how Grande has come to a new realization to leave her partner and focus solely on her well being.
The album’s title track “Eternal Sunshine” follows the interlude and is speculated by fans to be about Grande’s relationship with her ex-husband. The song hints at her experiencing infidelity with her partner singing, “I showed you all my demons, all my lies / Yet you played me like atari.” Despite Grande being painted as a villain in her past relationship by multiple media outlets, Grande voices that there is another side to the story through her music.
The next song “supernatural” is a nontraditional love song about feeling a “end of the world” everlasting love. The song in the slightly deluxe version incorporated Troye Sivan in a rendition adding a dynamic element. Sivan brought a beautiful essence throughout this song with his vocals in the background. He only had a verse by himself for less than 15 seconds however the artists’ voices paired together complimented each other well and strengthened the original tune.
Grande exhibits her bad girl persona in the next songs “true story” and “the boy is mine” as fan favorites charting top 30 on the Billboard Hot 100. Reminiscent of Grande’s Dangerous Woman era, an a capella in the deluxe album for “true story” is included. Those who have listened to Grande’s leaked song “fantasize” can hear a reworked version of it through the songs. In her new anthem, “the boy is mine” Grande aimed to put out a song inspired by 90s girl groups including Brandy and Monica who recorded the classic song “The Boy is Mine” in 1998.
Along with the album’s delivery, a music video for the next song featuring “we can’t be friends (wait for your love)” was released. Grande is seen going into a hospital with a large box filled with all her sentiments from life to erase all her memories. Grande vocalizes, “I don’t wanna feed this monstrous fire / Just wanna let this story die / And I’ll be alright,” showing she believes she can move past in her life by forgetting her connections to those in her life and staying to herself. Grande is personal in this video, making it one of my favorites she has released.
Continuing to showcase emotional vulnerability, Grande’s last tracks feature her singing in a more mellow soulful tune, unlike her traditional style supporters usually listen to. In “i wish i hated you” and “imperfect for you” Grande is honest about her faults when in relationships.
An acoustic version of “imperfect for you” is included on the deluxe album and was able to enhance the original song when the instruments in the background of the original were refined.
The final song on the album titled “ordinary things” brought a young Grande vibe that’s reminiscent of one of her first songs “pink champagne” when she sings in the new song, “We could go pop all the champagne in California.” The ending featured Grande’s 98-year-old grandmother “Nonna” who has made history as the oldest person to chart on Spotify. Grande’s “Nonna” has been seen as a prominent figure in Grande’s life while in the limelight and fans enjoyed hearing a personal conversation between the two of them.
The slightly deluxe version of “eternal sunshine” featured the anticipated artist collaboration with pop singer Mariah Carey in a remix of “yes, and.” While many have compared Grande and Carey’s vocal talents for decades and yearned for them to record a song together, this remix did not match up to what fans waited years for. This song choice did not allow the duo to showcase their similar vocal ranges, it sounded as if they were on top of each other and trying to outdo one another. Carey was just featured solely in one verse for less than 15 seconds.
An album that brings lovers of Grande’s songs to dance, cry to, and sing on their way to work, many can find a song in this album they can relate to. Though fans anticipate a tour, Grande has only teased that she wants to perform and has not announced an official tour date. With Grande’s secrecy surrounding current projects, I believe she will soon break her silence, and am awaiting to hear her songs live and watch new music videos that visually represent her lyrics.
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