Just a little over a year ago, I wrote an article reviewing Ariana Grande’s seventh album, eternal sunshine. A few weeks ago, I was ecstatic to find out she was finally releasing the full deluxe version of the album, eternal sunshine deluxe: brighter days ahead, not to be confused with the additional remixes she added after the initial release, eternal sunshine (slightly deluxe). This latest version has several new songs and an extended edition of the hauntingly stunning intro on the original album. Additionally, she announced a short film to debut with the release, titled brighter days ahead!
deluxe tracks review
While there were no inherently bad songs, I also think we could have lived without hearing them, with the one exception being “Hampstead,” my favorite of the deluxe tracks. The initial album was a work of art with a complete story being told from beginning to end. While I was hoping these tracks would improve upon this story, going back like a prequel to provide more background information, they didn’t seem to do that in my heart. The tracks had a different production from the original album, feeling more mellow and less like a fully-polished collection. Once again, none of it was bad, but none of it was good like the original album except for “Hampstead.”
The intro of “(end of the world) – extended” was honestly my biggest let down. The standard length intro was ethereal and laid with the perfect layout to explain the storyline we were about to dive deep into. The lyrics in this extended version were a great continuation of it, but the production felt incomplete, like a cheaply slapped-on addition. My second favorite track was “twilight zone.” While I can see why it wasn’t on the original album, as it does essentially nothing for the overall story’s arc, it is a fun song and also touches on themes I haven’t seen as much in her other tracks. I am so relieved it did not come out last year, though, because I would’ve been throwing up over my situationship at the time listening to this one (we live and we learn, thank goodness!). The next three tracks, “warm,” “dandelion,” and “past life” had me in a slump. I walked into each song with expectations that it would slap, but I was bored by the time we got to the second verse. For some reason, “warm” screams mid-2010’s Disney Channel original song. It has certainly grown on me since my first listen, probably coming in as my third favorite track, but it was still just boring to me. I don’t like “dandelion” that much, but the clear R&B influence and similarity to thank u, next tracks in the introduction was such a fun surprise when listening. Similarly, I don’t really care for “past life”, but the vocals and production are so old-Ariana that it warmed my heart to hear it.
My glorious queen “Hampstead” deserves her own paragraph. During release week, Ariana stated in an interview that this was her favorite song she has ever written, so naturally I was ready for my heart to be ripped out of my chest. While it was more cryptic and less raw than I expected, likely due to the terms of her divorce (if that’s who it’s even about … ), I still was in absolute awe of this song. It really is her saying goodbye to a chapter of her life, whether that chapter be her ex-husband, the way she was treated by the media during the “home-wrecking” allegations, or any number of other things. I can’t wait to continue listening to this song and pick up on more references that she makes to other songs or eras of her life, as many fans have already found several upon their first few listens.
Short film review
brighter days ahead is a 26 minute film and features Grande as the star. She reprises her character, Peaches, from the “we can’t be friends (wait for your love)” music video, but much later in life. Without spoiling any of the plot, here are my honest thoughts:
The film is essentially six music videos in one, including songs from both the original track list and the deluxe track list. The first half didn’t do much for me in terms of storytelling, but once we got to the final song I really felt like it was adding more to the story than we got on the original album and was incredibly heartwarming. While it hasn’t had the same impact to me that other short films or videos by musical artists have, it was still wonderful and worth the watch (especially the last little bit!).
While this deluxe version wasn’t my favorite I’ve seen from an album, it is still worth the listen and watch. At the very least, it will definitely help get me through until her next project is out!