Ariana Grande takes us on a trip down memory lane with the release of the deluxe to her seventh studio album, eternal sunshine deluxe: brighter days ahead on March 28. The album features six brand new songs and a short film to accompany the album.
Let’s get real for a sec, I’ve been waiting for this deluxe album after the release of eternal sunshine in March 2024– but with the release of Wicked last November, I had plenty of material to keep me fed until now.
For a little background, the album was inspired by the 2004 film, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet. The film is about a woman Clementine, played by Winslet, who gets her mind erased from her former boyfriend after a painful breakup. Joel, played by Carrey, also gets the same procedure done to forget memories of Clementine.
The Theme from the movie is shown all throughout Grande’s promo for the album as well as the music video for the album’s first single, “we cant be friends (wait for your love)” which shows Grande, who’s alter ego is named Peaches, going through the same mind-erasing procedure.
Peaches’ story continues with the eternal sunshine deluxe and short film where she is now elderly and undergoing another procedure from Brighter Days Inc. called “memory preservation.” Peaches, now old, revisits all her memories before they are erased for good. The short film features songs from the standard album and the deluxe, creating a beautiful masterpiece,
Like always, I’m going to go through each new song and give my honest (and totally not biased) review– rating each song on a scale of one through five.
“Intro (end of the world)- extended”
When the intro first came out, I was obsessed. It expressed a sense of hope and yearn. With the extension, we see that hope being ripped away. One of my favorite lyrics says,
“I broke your heart because you broke me/ So me, I am the bad guy/ ‘Cause I’d already grieved you/ And you started to realize/ I do need you (I did).”
Ariana has this pace-like way of singing these lyrics– almost like she’s freestyling. I’ve seen some critiques but I personally like how there’s a clear break in between the OG and the extension; it really sets the scene for the rest of the deluxe songs.
Rating: 4
“twilight zone”
“twilight zone” is the fraternal twin of “we cant be friends (wait for your love).” The song features the same electro- beat as “we can’t be friends” but with an obvious darker undertone of the other.
Ariana in this song isn’t regretting the previous relationship she’s singing about. Instead, she’s almost like she is recalling the memory as something otherworldly– kinda like an episode of The Twilight Zone (or Black Mirror if you’re looking for a contemporary example).
Ariana in “twilight zone” says, “It’s not like i’m still not over you/ it’s so strange, this I never do/ Not that I miss you, I don’t/ Sometimes I just can’t believe/ You happened.”
The lyricism in this song is insane. The storytelling really paints the picture of how she’s feeling: similarly to “we can’t be friends.” But like that song, it took me a while to get into. Nonetheless I still love it.
Rating: 4
“warm”
“warm” is about this sense of independence but also loving the idea of a companion. Ariana says “‘cause i’m cool (‘cause i’m cool)/ On my own (On my own)/ But it’s warmer/ In your arms, mm.”
This song has a similar vibe to ‘“twilight zone” but a little more upbeat. In comparison to the other songs on the deluxe, this song doesn’t have much of a deeper meaning than the others– just a fun, three-minute break. Who doesn’t love that?
Rating: 3.5
“dandelion”
Where do I start? Obviously at the beginning; the song begins with the most addictive trumpet beat. It almost reminds me of “All that Jazz” from Chicago. But instead of a jazz record, the beat drops and “dandelion” is a sultry r&b-pop record that I’m obsessed with.
The chorus of this grown and sexy song goes, “And, yes, I promise, if I’m being honest/ You can get anything you’d like/Can’t you see I bloom at night?”
Similar to the dandelion flower that first blooms as this vibrant flower but transforms into the white, fluffy, flower from our childhood, this song is unleashing something within yourself that you didn’t have before. Might be a reach but the dandelion really shows the two differences between eternal sunshine standard and deluxe.
Rating: 5
“past life”
You know those songs that seem a different way at surface value but once you dig deeper, it’s amazing? That’s what “past life” is to me.
TBH after the first listen, this one didn’t stick out to me. But, after a few listening and actually listening to the lyrics, I really like this song.
“past life” is about leaving something behind that you thought you would have forever. The string-heavy beat is basically an ode to music as an outlet as the stunning pre-chorus says, “Rhythms of the night consume my body/ Just let the music confiscate my soul.”
As this song is still growing on me, I do say it is written strongly and would probably sound amazing live.
Rating: 4
“Hampstead”
It’s been forever since I’ve heard a solid album closer until now. “Hampstead”, the only song on the album that’s capitalized, pays homage to Hampstead, London, the town where Ariana lived when she filmed Wicked.
The song has a small hometown feel. It’s raw and emotional as it acts as closure to the eternal sunshine era. The vulnerability in this song comes from so many directions. But after hearing,
“You think you’ve read the book I’m still writing/ I can’t imagine wanting so badly to be right.”
Calling out not only her past relationships but the media, Ariana is hinting at the open ending to her story– one she plans to write on her own.
Rating: 5
As I approach the ending to the eternal sunshine era, I’m overall very thankful that Ariana added onto Peaches’ saga. Although the songs on the deluxe are starkly different from the ones on the standard, they compliment each other perfectly. This album feels different in the best ways possible.