yes, eternal sunshine is incredible, and?

            Ariana Grande is one of the artists I’ve been a fan of for the longest, starting when sweetener came out in August 2018. She has an insane vocal range, enchanting melodies, and a comforting nostalgic sound. I loved her the moment I heard “No Tears Left To Cry” in 2018. thank u, next (2019) secured my adoration for her. To this day, “fake smile” and “ghostin” are some of my all-time favorite songs.

            Grande’s latest album, eternal sunshine, has a twist on a common album structure. Albums such as Gracie Abrams’ Good Riddance and Lana Del Rey’s Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd? start with a bunch of songs about a breakup, and end abruptly with a new love. Grande starts this love a little earlier in the album but otherwise follows that general idea. “All media is good media” plays a big part in the overall concept of the record. Grande got married in 2021 and started a relationship with Ethan Slater in 2023 during her divorce. There was marriage and a baby involved previously for Slater, thus Grande was dubbed a homewrecker. The album was promoted with this in mind. Listening to the debut single, “yes, and?” I wasn’t feeling super optimistic. However, eternal sunshine is the ultimate example of bilaterality, and moreover, why art exists.

The eternal sunshine album cover, where Grande is pictured leaning on her own shoulder. This type of act of self-love is exemplified in themes throughout the album.

"intro (end of the world)": Interludes are exceptionally hard to pull off, but established artists frequently do it. Grande is no different. This gorgeous moment, with a length of 1:32, is a perfect introductory piece.

            My favorite lyric: “Aren’t you really supposed to know that sh**? Feel it in your bones and own that sh**?” – Those moments when “trust your gut” feels like useless advice.

“bye”: the only time I’ve been this excited by what I heard on my first listen of a song was with “Suburban Legends” by Taylor Swift. 2024 took a moment to have exciting releases for me, so finally hearing something I loved was exhilarating.

            “bye” is full of addicting moments. The pre-chorus, “I grab my stuff, Courtney just pulled up in the driveway/it’s time” gets you aggressively nodding and remembering how fun it is to live. With the simple hook, “Boy, bye/bye, bye/it’s over, it’s over” and “I’m taking what’s mine, “bye” is the perfect pick-me-up. Plus, great synths!

            My favorite lyric: “At least I know how hard we tried, both you and me, didn’t we? Didn’t we?”

“don’t wanna break up again”: The opening verse sets the tone for the album,

I fall asleep crying

You turn up the TV

You don’t wanna hear me

One more sleepless night

            You can see why she led this era with the statement “yes, and?” It’s like she’s saying, “Yes, this happened, and I don’t care what you think. Yes, I did this, and you’ll know why soon”.  

Grande struggles to see her mature emotions through an adult lens, describing how “this situation-ship has to end”. This word choice might look lazy, but it’s one of the most important parts of the song. I suppose you know a marriage is over when its best description involves TikTok brain rot terms.

            The line “You didn’t even try/when you finally did, it was at the wrong time/won’t abandon me again for you and I” reminds me of Adele’s “Easy On Me” (2021) – a song also about divorce. Adele sings, “You can’t deny how hard I tried/I changed who I was to put you both first, but now I give up”.

            My favorite lyric: “Hope you still think fondly of our little life”

“Saturn Returns Interlude”: Saturn completes a cycle around the sun once every 29 years. Therefore, a Saturn return is when Saturn is back where it was when you were born. It’s inferred that Grande was that age when these events occurred. Super cool concept.

            The spoken word part of the song ends with “’Wake up’, it’s time for you to get real about life and sort out who you really are”. Grande has solidified her capability of making a good interlude.

            My favorite line: "Smell the coffee/because if we've just been sort of relying on our cleverness/or relying, you know, just kind of floating along, Saturn comes along and hits you over the head" - I love the sentiment of forcing yourself to make a change and the correction from "relying" to "floating along".“

A promotional picture for the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

"eternal sunshine": this song reminds me of how I write. Thus, it's a favorite.

            Opening with "I don't care what people say, we both know I couldn't change you/I guess you could say the same", Grande's defeat in acceptance is representative of the whole album.

            You might recognize this album title from the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. The movie is about reliving the same relationship repeatedly in a world where you can erase someone from your memory. However, the characters keep finding each other again. It's a great, though remotely disturbing movie. The plot ties into my favorite line, "So I try to wipe my mind just so I feel less insane, rather feel painless".

"supernatural": Such a nostalgic sound!

            Grande adds to a space theme of the album with, "Need your hands all up on my body like the moon needs the stars". She fully accepts moving on with my favorite line, "This love's possessing me but I don't mind at all". The catchy pop earworm has a bounce that can't help but stay stuck in your head.

"true story": "true story" is like Grande's version of Taylor Swift's "Blank Space". Putting critics of her relationship in their place by leaning into the role, she sings, "I'll play the villain if you need me to" and, "This is a true story about all the lies you fantasized". She reclaims her power.

            The song feels like the way you want to feel when calming yourself down as a spider crawls on you. I neither intend this as a compliment nor an insult - it's good, but one of the least loopable on the record.

My favorite lyric: "I'll play whatever part you need me to, and I'll be good in it too"

The thumbnail for the "the boy is mine" music video

“the boy is mine”: Grande went viral last year for a leaked track called “Fantasize”, which had been written earlier for a project for someone else. The success was largely because it had unfortunate lyrics with the coinciding controversy. The songs move similarly and are both undeniably catchy, so “the boy is mine” is considered online to be Grande’s true version of the leaked track.

            The biggest strength of the track is in the emotion. Lines like “The boy is mine/I can’t wait to try him” show the feeling of being excited and rejuvenated by the person you’re with.

            My favorite lyric: “Something about him is made for somebody like me” – When I say “aw” I mean it in both a happy and sad way.

The "yes, and?" single cover

“yes, and?”: When this, the lead, was released, I didn’t know what to think. I can’t even begin to comprehend why this intro is 47 seconds long. It feels like it should build up to something that never comes. It’s catchy, but nothing amazing.

            I think “yes, and?” was released as the lead to lean into the “all media is good media” saying. An artist’s personal life is none of my business, so I don’t think it’s my right to have an opinion on the ethics of saying “yes, and?” here, but distaste has become the consensus online. The track debuted at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, though, so using the hate train to her advantage clearly worked.

            Positively, the song has empowering moments. “Be your own f*cking best friend” and “Your business is yours and mine is mine” are on point.

            My favorite lyric: “Keep moving like, ‘what’s next?’”

The thumbnail for the "we can't be friends (wait for your love)" music video

“we can’t be friends (wait for your love)”: One of my favorites. You have to laugh at the opening line, considering the song preceding it, “I didn’t think you’d understand me”. She’s referring to her relationship, but it fits with the reception of “yes, and?” Sadly, for both contexts, this is followed by, “How could you ever even try?”

            The track is steering away in the chart pop direction from Grande’s typical R&B, which is part of why it’s been so successful online. Plus, Grande is one of only three writers on this song, so the personal depth shows. It’s an impressive feat for an artist who has long been the butt of the “she needs twenty writers to get a song out” joke. Speaking of which, that joke was tired the moment it was born.

            The music video re-enacts the memory erasure plot of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Combining the lore, the lyricism, and Grande’s ever-stellar vocals, the track is undeniably one of the strongest on eternal sunshine.

My favorite lyric: “Me and my truth, we sit in silence/baby girl, it’s just me and you” – there’s something so comforting about the delivery of this line.

“i wish i hated you”: The instrumentals are perfect: comfortingly repetitive and soul-touching.

            All the repetition has a great effect on the pre-choruses. The hook is the song title, and Grande profusely defends herself before reaching it. She sings, “No matter how I try to, and no matter how I want to/and no matter how easy things could be if I did/and no matter how guilty I still feel saying it…” and hits the title. Have you ever felt ashamed for being ashamed of having perfectly valid feelings? It’s confusing.

            My favorite lyric: “I wish there was worse to you”

Grande performing "imperfect for you" on Saturday Night Live

“imperfect for you”: This track channels the R&B album sweetener (2018) a little too much while having undeniable hints of country. It literally opens with, “My boy, come take my hand/throw your guitar and your clothes in the back seat”. The chorus is sweet and is written with a country flow, “I’ll love you like you need me to, imperfect for you”, with, “imperfect for you” sometimes spread out so it sounds like she’s saying, “I’m perfect for you”. A very country-style story has been told by the end. It’s sweet even if it’s not a standout on the album.

            My favorite lyric: “How could we know this was a happy disaster?/I’m glad we crashed and burned” – hello Bob Ross.

“ordinary things (feat. Nonna)”: The theme is nice: “There’s never gonna be an ordinary thing as long as I’m with you”. This is literally just a love song. Grande spends the verses comparing her love interest to nice things and saying all the random nice things they could do together. But I say “nice” because “nice” isn’t a particularly meaningful compliment unless you’re saying it synonymously with the word “kind”.

            Then comes the chorus. “Ordinary” is a good word choice for the song’s purpose, but Grande rushes parts of the word to try and pull it off, and it just doesn’t work. The beat is disrupted and the good energy leaves.

            “ordinary things” and “imperfect for you” are most reminiscent of sweetener but are still worse than even its worst cuts.

            My favorite lyric: “Never go to bed without kissing goodnight/that’s the worst thing you can do, don’t ever, ever do that/and if you can’t, and if you don’t feel comfortable doing it, you’re in the wrong place, get out”

            Though I had to end this review on a low note, eternal sunshine is my favorite album of Ariana Grande’s. The nostalgic pop sound is simply unmatched. Grande has no upcoming plans aside from the premiere of her upcoming movie, Broadway’s Wicked, but she’ll hopefully go on tour soon. This would be an excellent time to tune in if you haven’t listened to her work already! Grande has seven albums, plus a whole host of movies and TV shows she’s been in.

            You can listen to eternal sunshine and eternal sunshine (slightly deluxe) on all streaming platforms now.