Finding Light in the Shadows: Ariana Grande's Journey with 'Eternal Sunshine'
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“How can I tell if I’m in the right relationship?”
The first lines of Ariana Grande’s seventh studio album, Eternal Sunshine, pose this fundamental question. It begins with an inquiry and ends with an answer given by her Nonna in the last lines of the album, “Never go to bed without kissing goodnight/And if you can’t… if you don’t feel comfortable doing it/You’re in the wrong place, get out.” This full-circle moment encapsulates Grande’s cosmic cycle.
As Ariana Grande’s 29th year draws to a close and her Saturn returns, the pop star reflects on her tumultuous journey—from the hardships of divorce to the thrill of newfound love, in her latest musical masterpiece, Eternal Sunshine.
Only one year after her fifth studio album, Thank U, Next—one of the most successful eras in her career while also being one of the hardest in her personal life—the “pov” singer released her R&B-influenced album, Positions, marking a fresh start in both her music and her relationships.
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However, the journey that followed was one that Ariana herself certainly did not foresee. A divorce from the muse of her Positions album and a new relationship with her recently separated Wicked costar caused the entire internet to turn on the singer. From being labeled a “homewrecker” in the tabloids to facing scrutiny about her weight and speculation about her return to music, Grande harnesses the fire to spark Eternal Sunshine, making this her most vulnerable and authentic album yet.
The album features 13 songs entirely co-produced and written by Grande. The second single, “we can’t be friends (wait for your love)” which is currently charting at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, particularly stands out as a highlight of the album. The song, produced by Max Martin, Ilya, and Grande herself, is a soft-pop record featuring raw, emotional lyrics including the vulnerable chorus, “We can’t be friends/But I’d like to just pretend/You cling to your papers and pens/Wait until you like me again.” The soft production allows the lyrics to shine and tell a story. The music video for the song is inspired by one of the artists’ favorite movies, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, where a couple undergoes surgery to forget one another. This theme is seen throughout the album, especially in this song where Grande asks the age-old question, “Is it better to have loved and lost or to have never loved at all?”
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Eternal Sunshine is a cohesive narrative of Grande’s life and time in the spotlight, one of those narratives being the “bad girl” image the media portrays of her. The three-track run of “true story,” “the boy is mine,” and “yes, and?” tell this exact story. In “true story,” the popstar steps into the persona people have set for her, embracing the false narrative and twisting it on its head, “I’ll play the bad girl if you need me to/If it makes you feel better/I’ll be the one you love to hate, can’t relate/Too much on my plate.” In “the boy is mine,” Grande pulls inspiration from 90s R&B girl groups through both production and lyrics and creates a masterpiece. And finally, “yes, and?” the lead single of Eternal Sunshine showcases Grande’s talents in a whole new light. Through the influence of house music and a sample of “Vogue” by Madonna, the singer creates something she’s never done before and completely nails it.
Following the storytelling nature of the album, Grande perfectly captures the feeling of newfound love in songs like “supernatural” and “imperfect for you.” The singer’s showstopping vocals shine through in these songs, accompanied by her mastery of songwriting.
Another song worth noting is the title track, “Eternal Sunshine.” The song delves into the timeless paradox of endless bliss and raises the question: Without darkness, can we truly appreciate the brilliance of the sunshine? Featuring lines like “So I try to wipe my mind/Just so I feel less insane/Rather feel painless/I'd rather forget than know, know for sure/What we could've fought through behind this door/So I close it and move,” behind a trap production, the song encapsulates the themes of the entire album.
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Eternal Sunshine is Ariana Grande’s most dynamic and mature work yet. She finds both her sound and the pocket where the genres of pop and R&B mix. The way her vocals harmonize with the production, blending seamlessly together, is remarkable and tells her authentic narrative through a sound completely unique to her.
Strike Out,
Writer: Isabella Santiago
Editor: Lindsey Limbach
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