Pop sensation Ariana Grande released her seventh album Eternal Sunshine on Mar. 8, 2024, three years after her most recent hit album Positions. Following her theatrical performance as Glinda on Wicked, Grande has incorporated many theatrical aspects into this album in a magical mix with her iconic and well established sound. 

The album itself took inspiration from 2004 film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind starring one of Grande’s favorite actors, Jim Carrey. The tracks featured in Eternal Sunshine incorporate theatrical references with Grande’s own narrative, further adding to the thoughtfulness and creativity that went into the album’s creation.

As a faithful Arianator myself, this album was highly anticipated and it most certainly did not disappoint. Grande has made it clear that she is turning a new page of peace, introspection and whimsy in this album, which she established early on with the first track “intro (end of the world)”. This song was short but sweet and emotional. Grande’s honest lyrics on top of her classic layered vocals made for an angelic start to the album. 

Grande was able to seamlessly transition the more reflective tone of her first track with “Bye,” a more upbeat and playful song. Though the artist touches on her personal relationships while continuing her honest lyricism, the song’s dependent drums and whimsical piano chorus makes for a disco-reminiscent sound perfect for a dance anthem.

Though Grande continues this upbeat rhythm in “Don’t wanna break up again,” the artist puts more emphasis on her vocals and makes for another reflective track. This song has a twist to its chorus that resembles a mix of the playful sound of her past albums Positions and Yours Truly. Grande’s voice remains angelic, though she mixes her light and breathy vocals with periods in which she adds her more powerful voice featured in many of her songs from her 2016 album Dangerous Woman.

Grande transitions into a more somber and alternate-sounding voice in “Eternal Sunshine” in which she features her higher vocal range in tandem with her lower register to portray the highs and lows she has felt in her past relationships. This song was one of my favorites on the album and her brutally honest and reflective lyrics make for an emotional yet catchy listen.

In “True Story,” Grande offers a more moody tune through a heavier bass and more drawn out vocals combined with her trademarked layered background vocals whose more alternative sound somewhat resembled her previous hit “Break up with your boyfriend, I’m bored”. The artist continues this moody tone with a more playful twist in her own rendition of the popular song “The boy is mine”. This song has been on repeat and is the ultimate pop-diva tune that is perfect for any dance party.

The artist returns to a more reflective tone in “We can’t be friends (wait for your love)” whose heavy background sounds and heavenly vocals reminded me of her past hit “Off the table”. Grande touches on a past relationship while acknowledging that she must move on despite her desire to reminisce. This song’s vocals are truthful yet powerful and pair beautifully with the narrative of growth that she depicts throughout the entirety of the album. Grande shows her strength as the song concludes with overwhelming yet gorgeous strings that resemble her moving forward onto greater things.

Grande’s “Imperfect for you” features a more grunge sound that paves an unheard path from her typical songs. With a heavy beat and light guitar chorus, the song’s backgrounds contrast Grande’s light voice perfectly. The artist incorporates lyrics that are painfully honest as she depicts her self-destructive thoughts that bring her back to her past relationships.

Concluding Grande’s Eternal Sunshine is “Ordinary Things” which continues her iconic light vocals with a more upbeat yet alternative sound that gives a more off-beat impression. The song also features Grande’s grandmother, Nonna, who has been incorporated in many of the artist’s past albums. The voice recording of Nonna further underscores Grande’s overall message of painful yet necessary growth that she endures and depicts in her newest album. 

This album deserves a 4.9 out of 5 simply because it was utterly beautiful, honest and emotional. The various moods that Grande incorporated into such an album paint a perfect narrative and further illustrate the creativity and talent that went into each track. If I were to change one thing, I would have made the first track longer simply because the song was so divine that I wished it would never end. Despite this, Eternal Sunshine is truly an amazing album that manages to resemble Grande’s growth as an artist with an incorporation of many of her past sounds while also making for a unique culmination of Grande’s past and present self as a whole.