Overall Rating: 8/10
After four years since the release of her last album, Positions, Ariana Grande has come back better than ever with her seventh album eternal sunshine, an album mixed with pop and R&B. Released on March 8 by Republic Records, the album was #1 on the Billboard 200 in the United States and its singles “yes, and?” and “we can’t be friends (wait for your love)” made it to the top of the Billboard Hot 100.Many listeners have praised Grande for her vocals and adored the new songs given to them, claiming eternal sunshine to be Grande’s most emotional album yet. Is it truly worth the hype?
Let’s start off at the very beginning of the album. Grande first introduces her album with the opening track “intro (end of the world).” The song is filled with questions about her relationship such as, “How can I tell if I’m in the right relationship?” and “Would I be the one on your mind?” Despite it being a short song, I have an emotional attachment to it. The feeling of always questioning and overthinking things, in this case, relationships, is dreadful. I bet that this feeling of being insecure in a relationship resonates with many.
Next up is “bye,” my second favorite track from the album. “Bye” talks about the struggles of ending a relationship and finally gathering the courage to leave and move on. Personally, I adore this song as its theme shifts from the opening track, focusing on control and independence. Not to mention, Grande’s vocals are absolutely perfect. This track is a great song to play whenever you need something to vibe with.
Some songs like “don’t wanna break up again,” “Saturn Returns Interlude,” “supernatural,” “true story” and “i wished i hated you” were good but did not stand out to me as much as others. The lyrics are beautifully crafted but the melodies themselves did not stick to me.
Three songs that did stand out to me, however, were “eternal sunshine,” “the boy is mine” and “imperfect for you.” These songs perfectly captured the feeling of betrayal, desire, and acceptance. The melody for all these songs was unforgettable — especially that of “the boy is mine.” After one listen, I could hardly get it out of my head and just had to replay it.
Moving on to the most streamed songs, we have “yes, and?” and “we can’t be friends (wait for your love).” “Yes, and?” had a catchy rhythm, making it hard to not give it a second listen. “We can’t be friends (wait for your love)” is unforgettable — the melody combined with the heartbreaking lyrics leaves you in a quiet yet devastated state. I can see why these two songs are so popular.
My first personal favorite track from the album would have to be the ending track, “ordinary things.” It’s such a sweet song in which Grande muses about the relationship between her and her lover, favoring the little things and simple moments in their story. She also includes a snippet of her maternal grandmother’s voice in the track, ending the album with her comforting words. In an interview on the Zach Sang Show, Grande explains that she sometimes will record her grandmother because she’ll say things that are funny and unexpected, which was a nice personal touch to add to her music.
Eternal sunshine was an amazing album and by far Grande’s most touching one yet. Though there are some songs that did not wow me, there were a few that I adored. If I could, I would do anything to experience listening to the album for the very first time again.
