“Eternal sunshine” was my most streamed album of 2024 – not a surprise whatsoever. I really connected with the album last year. Ariana Grande has been one of those artists whose discography I’ve always felt really attached to. She’s been through a lot in her personal life, but she always manages to convey every single complex emotion of loss, love and perseverance in a really beautiful and nuanced way. “eternal sunshine” took a new direction as it saw her getting more open to exploring the ins and outs of her journey as an artist and public figure as well as the person underneath the persona. Not to mention, the album has many bangers. This era was one of her most vulnerable yet, and also the era with the most cohesive overall narrative. This is why, when she teased the idea of a possible deluxe edition, I couldn’t have been more excited.
“intro (end of the world) extended”
One of Grande’s iconic staples on each of her albums is her opening tracks. Especially the shorter teaser tracks that set the scene for the album like “Raindrops (An Angel Cried)” from “Sweetener” and “Intro” from “My Everything.”
“Intro (end of the world)” was no different. It was such a beautiful way to enter the universe of “eternal sunshine” and I was so glad that they released an extended version to accompany this deluxe album. I think this version of the track changes the original context of the song and adds more detail to illustrate the sadness and isolation of a failing relationship. It also shows regret for the fact that it didn’t work out. Although the original felt more like longing, this extended version shows the deeper sadness that underscores the album as a whole.
twilight zone
To me, “twilight zone” is the spiritual successor to “we can’t be friends (wait for your love)” in both production and the lyrics themselves, although the former is less blissfully optimistic than the latter.
I personally love to play them back to back as they kind of fade into each other. While on “we cant be friends”, Grande wants to keep the door open for her relationship to come back one day in the future; on “twilight zone” she is closing that door completely and reflecting on its effects on her life as the relationship is firmly in the past.
The production on this track is nothing short of magical. The synths on this song are perfect and help convey this idea of feeling like you are having out of body experience or some sort of twisted dream. This is a top tier pop song and fits so perfectly into the universe of this album. This song is all about Grande reflecting on a past relationship and realizing she had it all wrong, as if it didn’t even happen. It’s a bit more somber then “we can’t be friends” but I think it has more of a natural conclusion, with Grande ending the song feeling satisfied that the relationship is over with no intentions of ever wanting to return to the way things were.
“warm”
”warm” is a fun dance pop track that follows in the similar dream pop sound from the original album, but it’s definitely a bit more optimistic and light in comparison to the other deluxe tracks, which was a nice change of pace.
The lyrics of this song revolve around Grande finding solace outside of her past relationships and beginning to explore new ones. It really captures the more fun side of this album cycle and functions more as a sweet dream in comparison to the bittersweet songs throughout the album. There’s even a tiny nod to a certain “Wicked” press tour moment hidden in the lyrics, as Grande sings about “holding the space” she requires in her next chapter of her relationship. It’s a cool track.
“dandelion”
As soon as I heard the saxophone solo fade into the beat drop, I knew I was in for a true hit. ”dandelion” is a return to a familiar sound for Grande, sounding like a track straight off “Dangerous Woman” or “Thank U, Next.”
This song was made specifically for the R&B fans, the ones who understood “positions” the first time. Many of her fans have complained online that her performance as Glinda in “Wicked” has taken away her pop diva persona, with many fans online jokingly requesting for Glinda to free the real Grande so she can make another “Dangerous Woman” or “positions.”
On “dandelion,” she once again proves that she still has that in her and despite her stint in the land of Oz, she still knows how to make an absolute trap pop masterpiece. Grande builds on themes from “the boy is mine” and takes on this character while also being able to convey her desires and wishes for her relationship and make her wishes come true, using the metaphor of making a wish on a dandelion.
I’ve always loved the way Grande uses both her delivery and her wordplay when tackling more sexually charged topics in her music. There are parts of this song that are meant to be tongue and cheek, she even admits herself in one of the lyrics that “she gets this sounds unserious.”
“past life”
”past life” is probably my favorite song off of the deluxe. It’s a darker, more string heavy R&B influenced ballad, where Grande finally comes to terms with the demise of a past relationship and is ready to leave in the past and move forward with a new state of mind. I didn’t see this one getting a lot of love on release day, but I hope that changes soon because this is such a great track.
Although the production is darker, almost gothic in a way, the lyrics themselves convey a sense of healing and a changing perspective on a love lost. Personally, my favorite Grande tracks have been the moodier R&B tracks like “Sometimes” from “Dangerous Woman” and “better off” from “Sweetener” and those influences are all over this track.
This is one of the standout songs in terms of her vocals. Her vocal layering in the bridge is some of the best in her discography. Her voice is so dynamic, so I loved all of the directions she took her vocals on this track. Plus, I’m also a sucker for any track that includes strings somewhere in it.
“Hampstead”
“Hampstead” concludes the eternal sunshine era in a deeply introspective and heartfelt way. It’s simply Grande and a piano. Grande even said it was her favorite song she had ever written. I think there are two meanings within this song, one about the end of her marriage and the beginning of her new relationship, and one about our relationship with her as an artist and the media circus surrounding her, because we tend not to know the true story.
Her love life has been the subject of media scrutiny her entire career, as it is with many female artists. Despite the public perception and opinions, we don’t really know all of the details because we are simply spectators. Specifically, Grande discusses this with the lyric: “But quite frankly, you’re still wrong about everything/ So far off, your seat’s nowhere near the table.” Many, myself included, interpret this as a line directed toward her fans and the overall public narrative about her. This song encapsulates the meaning of this album.
Brighter Days Ahead
Along with the five deluxe tracks, Grande surprised fans with an accompanying 30-minute short film entitled “Brighter Days Ahead,” which she directed herself alongside Christian Breslauer. This film is set within the universe of the “We Can’t Be Friends” music video, and follows the character of Peaches, played by Grande, as she goes back to delete more of her memories now as an old woman. Each of Peaches’ memories directly correlates to a song and piece of Grande’s life.
The film begins with “intro (end of the world),” set to footage of Grande’s childhood home videos of her parents and herself. “Eternal sunshine” and “dandelion” are showcased as a scene meant to represent Grande’s Pop Diva persona, showing her as a hologram-like figure performing to the masses in her signature look, high ponytail and all. She then returns to the house from the “we can’t be friends” music video but this time it’s in ruins and this perfectly sets the scene for “twilight zone” and ultimately “supernatural,” which sees her getting abducted by a UFO similar to the album cover of the deluxe.
But, the part of the film that really got me was “hampstead.” This part sees Grande begin as a girl who’s gone missing but then transition into a scene where she is a Frankenstein type figure, being pieced together again by her father, who is played by Grande’s real-life father Ed Butera, ending with them sitting by the piano together once again. This part may or may have not gotten a few tears out of me when I first watched it.
Grande conveyed the healing journey in such a beautiful way with her use of the Brighter Days Inc. plot thread throughout this era because ultimately the theme of this album is her journey through heartbreak, healing, reflection and finally learning to love again. I think the mix of darker and sci-fi inspired aesthetics fit the dreamlike and supernatural-esque atmosphere of this album
Grande has always been an artist who has not shied away from taking a more cinematic approach with her visuals, but I think this era in particular has really allowed her to explore the directions she can go in beyond just musical storytelling. You can really tell she has an eye for interesting visual references, with the overall reference to “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” to her more science fiction and horror inspirations such as “Frankenstein,” “X-Men” and “Close Encounters.” She’s always included these types of visual references in her past videos – “One Last Time” or “No Tears Left to Cry” –- but I think returning to film with “Wicked” has allowed her to perfect it and create a heartfelt and visually compelling visual component to the album.
“Eternal Sunshine: Brighter Days Ahead” not only expands the universe of the original album, but allows for Grande to pay tribute to her past sound while also being able to explore new sounds. It also shows Grande heading in a new direction creatively in terms of visuals. Watching Grande’s evolution as an artist has been nothing short of incredible and I think this era is a culmination of her music but also her as a person. She’s ending this era differently than how she began it, and I cannot wait to see where she goes next.