Ariana Grande Releases Vulnerable Seventh Studio Album, ‘Eternal Sunshine’ [PLAY OR PASS]

Ariana Grande fans rejoice. After a three-year drought, the 30-year-old singer has released her seventh studio album, eternal sunshine. The new album was released on Friday, March 8 and immediately reaction from fans declared it her best and most vulnerable work yet. I’m a big Ari fan. “Best Mistake” from her 2014 album My Everything is what made me fall in love with her music and I’ve been banging with her since.

In the past, I wrote reviews for Ariana’s 2019 thank u, next and 2021 Positions albums. In 2018 I was joined by a fellow Ari lover and my good friend John to do a video review of Sweetener. This time around, John and I paired up again to have a virtual listening party for eternal sunshine and although I didn’t record anything I jotted down much of our conversation while we did a first listen. Here’s a breakdown of the album and which songs were a PLAY or PASS.

The rollout for Ariana’s new music first came with “yes, and?,” the lead single for eternal sunshine, in January. It’s still not a track I fully love but it’s not the worst from her. Knowing Grande is a huge Jim Carrey fan it’s clear to see the parallels between the concept of her album with the 2004 film “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” starring Carrey as Joel who undergoes a medical procedure to erase the memories of his ex, Clementine (Kate Winslet), when the relationship goes bad.

Ariana’s eternal sunshine may be her shortest album to date with a running time of around 36 minutes with 13 tracks, but it is indeed her most interesting. The album opens with “intro (end of the world)” as she asks, “How can I tell if I’m in the right relationship?” That question sets the tone for the duration of the album with many of the themes centering on the complicated dynamics of relationships with many speculating Ari’s ex husband Dalton Gomez is the material’s source. Since the album is so intimate and personal most of the tracks are mellow. Her tracks “don’t wanna break up again,” “eternal sunshine,” “i wish I hated you,” “imperfect for you,” and “ordinary things (feat. Nonna)” are on the softer side of the album with “Saturn Returns Interlude” splashed in between her more upbeat tracks “bye,” “supernatural,” “true story,” “the boy is mine,” “yes, and?,” and “we can’t be friends (wait for your love).”

I must admit that during the first listen I was vibing with less than half the album which was a letdown because I was anticipating loving this album. “intro (end of the world) was a great way to start the album but then the album flip flopped for me every other track. I loved a song and then hated the next but knew that most of the songs I hated would probably grow on me with further listening. Songs like “don’t wanna break up again,” “eternal sunshine,” and “true story” were immediate favs of mine but others like “supernatural” and “the boy is mine” needed repeated listens for me to get into it. Now “the boy is mine” is by far my favorite song off this album.

The one thing an Ariana Grande album will always have is superb vocals. Me not liking a song will never be because of her voice. Grande has a timeless sound and the way she arranges and layers her vocals gets more impressive with each album, but eternal sunshine is not a performance album. Who wants to be depressed while enjoying live music? Most of the songs would perform well during a Las Vegas residency when Ariana reaches that level in her career, but I wanted to bop more when listening to this album and not sob so the bottom half of the album was a one time listen for me. For the girls, and guys, going through a breakup I think they will gravitate towards this album more, but there are still other elements that aren’t so melancholy for the album to be enjoyable.

Ariana Grande’s eternal sunshine is available to stream and purchase.

Have you listened to Ariana Grande’s new album yet? Which songs were your favorite and which ones do you think will grow on you? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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