Ariana Grande released her long-awaited seventh studio album, eternal sunshine, on March 8, 2024. The pop superstar has proved once again she is a force to be reckoned with in the music industry.
Grande’s album is the perfect mix of heartbreak, love, and self-discovery. eternal sunshine marks her sixth album to reach number one on the Billboard 200 charts, earning over 227,000 units in its first week of sales.
She recently secured her ninth number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for her hit song, “we can’t be friends (wait for your love).” The music video currently sits at 76 million views on YouTube.
eternal sunshine is a much different album from her last album, Positions, released in 2020. In the latter work, Grande had many collaborations with her usual musical peers, The Weeknd, Victoria Monet, and more.
The album showed a different side of the singing legend with more soulful melodies and deeper lyrics which fans think could have been directed to her now ex-husband Dalton Gomez.
Beginning in the second half of 2023, Grande has received backlash due to her alleged new relationship with Wicked co-star Ethan Slater. The pair reportedly started their relationship in July 2023, but the romance has yet to be confirmed by both parties.
Fans think Grande addresses these rumours in her album. On one track in particular, “intro (end of the world),” she sings, “Wonder if he’s thinkin’ ‘bout it too and smiling, Wonder if he knows that that’s been what’s inspirin’ me.”
The release of the album shocked fans as it sighted hints of infidelity and differences in Ariana’s marriage. Nevertheless, eternal sunshine is one of my favourite albums of Grande.
Here are my three favourite songs from the album:
1. “Yes, and?”
Yes, I know it’s cliche to pick the lead single as my favourite song, but “yes, and?” showed a different side to Ariana’s music. The song has an infectious vibe that can’t be found anywhere else in her discography. Ariana experimented with influential sounds that have taken over the music industry for the past two years.
We are no strangers to Ariana Grande speaking her mind in songs, her most notable being “thank u, next” but “yes, and?” shows a more confident side to the singer.
The lyrics, “Why do you care so much whose **** I ride?” reportedly is a response to critics about her relationship with Ethan Slater. I believe the song has similarities to Madonna’s “Vogue” which is also shown in her music video.
Overall, I give this song an 8/10 for its unique creativity.
2. “True Story”
“true story” is the seventh song on the album, and I must say it’s my favourite. Its lyrics, melody, and tone are great forms of storytelling. The song has accumulated over 57 million streams on Spotify and is a crowd favourite among fans.
The song details heartbreak. Lyrics like, “This is a true story about all the lies,” have Arianators questioning if they’re about Grande’s relationship with Dalton, but this theory has not been confirmed.
This two-minute song is the perfect album track for such a beautiful body of work. I believe this is one of her best songs, and I rate it a 10/10.
3. “The Boy is Mine”
“the boy is mine” has caused quite a stir due to its name and the inspiration behind the song. In an Apple Music interview with Zane Lowe, Grande said that the song was inspired by Brandy and Monica’s “The Boy is Mine” released in 1998. The original song spoke about two women in love with the same man, and Grande’s song takes a quite similar approach with flirtatious lyrics and a sultry tone.
The lyrics, “The boy is mine / Watch me take my time” all hint at a new relationship of the singer’s. It’s a very upbeat tempo song which is nothing we haven’t seen before from the pop superstar. In my opinion, I rate it a 7/10.
Grande’s album was the highlight of the 2024 music scene so far. It showed a happier and more confident side to the artist and now we all hope to be getting a tour soon!