What do you get when you mix an English major, an Arianator, and someone who thrives on pop culture drama? A track-by-track analysis of every song on Ariana Grande’s new album.
Eternal Sunshine tells Grande’s side of the stories that have been swirling around her since July 2023; namely, her divorce from Dalton Gomez and her relationship with her Wicked co-star, Ethan Slater. The album is pretty neatly split in half between her commentary on Gomez and Slater. Of course, we’ll never know how much of the album is based in reality, but its lyrics paint a pretty clear picture of what went down in the Gomez-Grande-Slater saga. Here’s what Grande had to say about her love life on each track of Eternal Sunshine.
“Intro (end of the world)”
This is a very holistic intro to everything and everyone that Grande sings about on Eternal Sunshine. In the first half, Grande sings about not knowing if she’s in the right relationship (AKA if Gomez is the right person for her).
Then she sings, “I had this interaction I’ve been thinkin’ ‘bout for like five weeks” with a different guy and “wonders if he’s judgin’ me like I am right now.” All signs point to this new guy being Slater. The “five weeks” lyric indicates that “intro (end of the world)” is talking about when Slater and Grande met while filming Wicked in early 2023 before either of them had separated from their partners (that’s where the judgment comes in).
In the chorus, Grande sings, “I don’t care / I’d rather tell the truth (Truth) / than make it worse for you.” This seems like a much more recent update. Grande’s claiming that she’s releasing Eternal Sunshine to set the record straight about Slater, Gomez, and herself. Buckle up.
“Bye”
Let’s call this Dalton Track No. 1. It’s like the shrugging emoji in song form. “Bye” is an upbeat, danceable track that acknowledges that Gomez and Grande tried their best to make their relationship work, but it’s over. Grande’s reclaiming her power and moving on from a situation that was no longer serving her.
The lyric “Didn’t think you’d lose me / Now it’s just too late to choose me” says a lot about their relationship. In her song “thank u, next,” Grande expressed a desire to only get married once in her life — maybe that’s why Gomez didn’t think they’d break up. But once he realized Grande was pulling away, he started putting in effort. By that point, Grande had already made her decision.
“Don’t Wanna Break Up Again”
Grande spills her guts on what led up to her decision to leave Gomez on this track. This title is an immediate callback to Grande’s “thank u, next” lyric about only wanting to get married once, but the lyrics reveal just how miserable the relationship had turned toward the end. She sings about feeling emotionally neglected, reveals they tried couple’s therapy, and even calls their marriage a “situationship” (yikes).
She paints a picture of the actual breakup in the bridge. She sings, “We both know it’s time / So we say goodbye / Just one kiss goodbye / With tears in our eyes.” At least we know it was a mutual decision.
“Saturn Returns Interlude”
The unfamiliar voice in this interlude explains that a Saturn Return is an astrological phenomenon that happens every 29 years. Grande was 29 at the time her relationship with Gomez broke down (and when she reportedly started her relationship with Slater). Don’t blame her; blame her birth chart.
“Eternal Sunshine”
Grande drops a bombshell on the album’s title track: apparently, Gomez cheated on her and lied about it. My jaw dropped the first time I heard the lines “Now she’s in my bed / layin’ on your chest” and “Hope you feel alright when you’re in her.” Grande tries to forget the pain of being cheated on by sleeping with someone else (she claps back “Now he’s in your bed” in the second chorus).
If you’re wondering where we’re at in the Gomez-Grande-Slater relationship timeline, “Eternal Sunshine” spans from before Grande and Gomez separated to when she started her relationship with Slater.
“Supernatural”
Grande’s said Eternal Sunshine is kind of a concept album, and “Supernatural” definitely fits into this definition. It’s the kind of track that would have fit very naturally on thank u, next or Dangerous Woman without losing its meaning. But if we read it in the larger narrative of Eternal Sunshine, it’s a transition into Slater’s arc on the album. Grande mentions another man in her bed (presumably Slater) in “Eternal Sunshine.” In “Supernatural,” she’s taking us back to the beginning of that attraction.
With lyrics like “I want you to come claim it” and “Want you to make it yours,” it’s pretty obvious that Grande and Slater’s connection was physical at first. They also reveal that she waited for him to make the first move. That checks out given that Slater was separating from his wife (with whom he shares a one-year-old son) when he got together with Grande. It was a risky situation for both of them, but Slater arguably had more skin in the game.
“True Story”
On this track, Grande turns the attention back on herself – or rather, the media’s version of herself. The media painted Grande as a homewrecker due to the whole Slater drama. On “True Story,” she acknowledges that people “love to hate” her. If the media wants to make her a villain, she’ll play along.
“The Boy Is Mine”
“True Story” is a nice set-up for “The Boy Is Mine,” which Grande described as the album’s bad girl anthem. The track lets us into Grande’s headspace at the time when she was crushing on Slater, but nothing had actually happened between them. She acknowledges that the situation doesn’t look good, but she wants him so badly (yes, in that way) that she doesn’t care. She tries to defend herself, singing “Please know this ain’t what I planned for,” but ultimately blames fate for bringing her and Slater together. It knows they’re “simply meant to be.”
“Yes, And?”
Grande’s heard what the media has to say about her love life, and she doesn’t care. “yes, and?” is an empowering anthem about living her life without worrying about what other people think of her. The now-infamous lyric “Why do you care so much whose d*ck I ride?” was the first clue she gave the world that the rumors about her relationship with Slater were true when she released the song as a single on Jan. 12 — at least, she didn’t deny them.
“We Can’t Be Friends (wait for your love)”
Grande addresses a different relationship here: her relationship with the media. She laments the way she’s painted in the news and knows she just has to “wait until you [the media] like me again” to reclaim her reputation. Grande has refused to make public comments about her relationships with either Gomez or Slater; this song explains her rationale.
“I Wish I Hated You”
As we wrap up the album, we’re putting our full attention back on Gomez here. I think this is the only true sad track on the album. Grande gets really vulnerable about her feelings towards the divorce. In the chorus, she expresses that no matter how much she wishes she could hate Gomez, she doesn’t. Anyone who’s ever experienced an amicable breakup gets what she means.
“Imperfect For You”
Slater’s gonna get a solo wrap-up song as well. The title hits on two ideas that Grande sings about on this track: she’s an imperfect lover because of her flaws and baggage, but she’s also perfect for Slater. She calls their relationship a “happy disaster” that “rearranged all the cosmos.” All in all? Grande and Slater are happy together, and that’s all they care about.
“Ordinary Things (feat. Nonna)”
This track circles back to the question Grande posed in “intro”: How do you know you’re in the right relationship? She’s still not sure, but the only thing she knows is that a relationship with her will never be ordinary because of her fame. This message serves as both an insight into what might have led to her divorce from Gomez and a warning to her future partners.
Grande has a history of letting her songs speak for her, so this might be her only public comment on her love life we’ll get. So, what can we learn from Eternal Sunshine overall? Grande is happy, healthy, and healing — and that’s all we need to know.