Ariana Grande "eternal sunshine" album review

Pop sensation Ariana Grande released her seventh studio album “eternal sunshine” this past Friday (March 8th). Her latest album comes nearly four years after her last release “Positions” which came in late October 2020. Grande had been on quite the streak nearing the end of the decade, releasing albums in 2018, 2019, and 2020. Her run on the charts seemed unstoppable until it was revealed that Grande was casted in the movie adaptation of “Wicked.” Grande will play the role of Glinda when “Wicked” hits theaters this November. 

As a lifelong fan of Grande, I am very excited to see her portray Glinda and see what she does with the character. However, I was even more excited to see Grande post pictures in the studio last December, which we know now as the beginning of the “eternal sunshine” rollout. Since “eternal sunshine” is Grande’s seventh album, she would post a picture relating to new music on every date ending in seven. This pattern made this album rollout my favorite Grande has ever done. 

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo for "Wicked" (Vanity Fair)

My mom and I at the "Sweetener World Tour" in 2019

As I alluded to, Ariana Grande was one of, if not the first, artists I ever really loved. Her enchanting voice spoke to me at a very young age, and Grande ended up being my first concert ever. I saw Ariana Grande on “The Honeymoon Tour” in 2015 then four years later on “Sweetener World Tour.” My favorite album from Grande up to this point is “Sweetener”, so it was amazing to see her sing those songs live. 

So flash forward to the first month of 2024 and Ariana Grande is finally ready to dip back into music and announces her lead single titled “yes, and?” This track saw Grande leaning into more of a house/dance-pop sound. As a comeback single Grande addresses multiple criticisms about her body, her relationships, and past allegations which have proven to be false. This track has grown on me since it was released. Not that I thought the song was bad initially, I thought the house music sound was a refreshing change in direction for Grande, yet, I thought she could have pushed the sound a little further. As the house music sound continues to push its way back into the mainstream through the likes of Drake and Beyoncé, and as a big fan of house music, hearing Ariana Grande dive into this sound gave me high hopes for this new era of music.

"yes, and?" Official Single Cover (rateyourmusic.com)

I do have a lot of positive thoughts about this record as a whole; however, I do have one main gripe with “eternal sunshine.” I do think “yes, and?” gave everyone false hope that this album would lean more into a house and dance-pop lane. Instead, the album fell back into the contemporary R&B sound that Ariana is known for. The great pop producer Max Martin is all over this record. Martin has worked with pop artists like The Weeknd, Taylor Swift, and Katy Perry. So I was very pleased to hear that Grande and Martin would be teaming up for “eternal sunshine.” As I listen to the album more and more, I grow to love “yes, and?” being the lead single. As much as I would have loved more house pop tracks on “eternal sunshine”, I do think there’s something special about “yes, and?” being the only song with this particular production, it makes for a cool moment on the record. 

Ariana Grande with producer Max Martin (DailyMail)

Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey for "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" (2004) (Medium)

I think “eternal sunshine” as a whole is one of Grande’s most conceptual albums to date. With the album being loosely related to and named after one of my favorite films, “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” starring Kate Winslet and Ariana Grande’s idol, Jim Carrey, I was hoping this album ties into the themes of the movie. Themes of the film included the desire to forget a past lover, the depression of losing someone who truly understood you, and ultimately feeling grateful for the memories you made with that person. While the album doesn’t directly tie into this concept, I think there are tinges of it scattered throughout, mainly on the title track.

The album begins with Grande asking herself how will she know that she’s in the right relationship. Consequently, the album closes with a voice memo from Grande’s grandmother answering that very question. Returning to the opener, "Into (end of the world)”, which makes for a very beautiful introduction to the record which transitions to one of Grande’s most vibrant and disco-esque pop tracks of her entire discography. This song is called “bye”, and Grande sings about looking back on a relationship and being grateful that they tried, however acknowledging it’s time to say goodbye. This track is by far the biggest dance moment on the album, and I love it. The following song, "don't wanna break up again" sort of contradicts "bye", with Grande writing sadder lyrics on the will it takes to end a relationship. Which is all over a smooth quintessential Ariana Grande beat, which makes this track another highlight for me. 

The album’s narrative continues as Ariana Grande gets astrological on the 42-second-long “Saturn Returns Interlude” which includes a passage from astrology YouTuber, Diana Garland. The passage consists of the idea of “Saturn’s return” occurring once every 29 years, thus, resulting in problems in Grande’s personal life. Conceptually, I like the interlude, and more importantly, that it provides a flawless transition into the title track, “eternal sunshine”, which as of right now is my favorite song on the album. The production is remnant of the R&B tinges of her past records like, “Positions”, as well as, “thank you, next.” I think Grande glides effortlessly over the track’s infectious beat. Strong verses, chorus, and bridge on this track. This song also has ties within the lyrics to the film "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." 

"Eternal Sunshine" Official Cover (Pitchfork)

"eternal sunshine" Alternate Cover (ELLE)

From here, Grande provides a very spacy pop track within track six, “supernatural”. This song is another highlight from me, due to it reminding me of something that could have been on my favorite Grande album, “Sweetener.” Lyrically, Ariana Grande is so in love that she battles with the concept of it being supernatural due to how out of this world this love seems. 

"eternal sunshine" Alternate Cover (Genius)

The next two tracks dive head first into that late 90’s RnB production that I mentioned previously. Both “true story” and “the boy is mine” show influence from the likings of TLC, Destiny’s Child, and Grande’s idol, Mariah Carey. I think “true story” provides the strongest vocal performance on the entire album. Grande sings, “I play the bad girl if you need me to”, possibly feeding into fabricated rumors about her and her current boyfriend, Ethan Slater. The following track, “the boy is mine”, feeds even more into this edgy persona over possibly the most interesting and impressive beats on the record. The beat slows down right before the chorus hits, which escalates the song very much. Both of these old school RnB tracks are highlights on “eternal sunshine.”

Track nine, the lead single, “yes, and?”, which I described prior as sounding better within the context of the entire album. Then, on track 10 titled, “we can’t be friends (wait for your love)”, Grande goes more synthpop than ever before. The second I heard this song and I immediately drew sonic elements from Carly Rae Jepsen or even something off of Taylor Swift’s last record, “Midnights.” I like to think of this song as the true centerpiece of the album. Lyrically it ties all the themes and elements of the record together. I think Grande’s soft and somewhat strained vocals on this track pair very nicely with the lucious synth beat. The music video to this song ties in with the film “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” very well. 

As the listener reaches the last three songs of the album, I do think that there is a bit of dip in quality. Whether that’s the lowkey and very short, “i wish i hated you” or the underwhelming closer “ordinary things”, I don’t think this album ends as strong as it started. While I do appreciate how emotional and vulnerable Grande gets on “i wish i hated you”, I don’t see myself coming back to this track often as it offers one of the weaker instrumentals on the album, which goes the same for the closer “ordinary things.” However, I think the best song out of the last three is “imperfect for you” which features a cool distorted guitar intro and Grande showcases her low register beautifully. It’s one of the more interesting tracks melodically too and features one of the more catchy hooks on the record. I also appreciate the double entendre that Grande provides on this song with describing herself as being imperfect for someone while also saying I’m perfect for you. 

Ariana Grande for "eternal sunshine" (@arianagrande on Instagram)

To close, I do believe that "eternal sunshine" will go down to be one of the best mainstream pop albums of the year. Despite being her shortest release yet, "eternal sunshine", is a consistent and concise pop record. An Ariana Grande album is always going to stand out vocally from other pop records, but in addition to Grande's stellar vocals, she also switches up her sound a bit with some late 90s R&B as well as some disco/house infusions. I think this record is worth a listen for any fan of music, especially listeners of pop. For now, I think "eternal sunshine" ranks as my second favorite album from Grande, just behind "Sweetener." My ranking for all of Grande's seven records is:

By: Harrison Mullin