Author Spotlight
Maggie Kissick
After three years of releasing no music, Ariana Grande has made a triumphant return to the pop music world with the release of her new album, “Eternal Sunshine” on March 8. This album is jam-packed with emotions from sadness to acceptance and anger, as the songs portray the collapse of one relationship into the start of another.
This album was released after her divorce last year from Dalton Gomez, who she was married to for two years. Rumors circulated about Grande cheating on her husband, but “Eternal Sunshine” challenges the belief that she treated Gomez unfairly.
I haven’t listened to much of Grande’s music lately. But this album has put her back on my radar, and while “Eternal Sunshine” wasn’t as good as some of her past albums, I still found it enjoyable to listen to.
I didn’t expect too much from this song; it’s less than two minutes long and most intros/interludes on albums don’t contribute significantly to albums as a whole. I was wrong.
The song kicks off with the soothing sound of violins, a comforting introduction that immediately captured my attention. As Grande started singing, I noticed how much more mature and smooth her voice sounded compared to her previous albums.
Lyrics like “Wonder if he’s judging me like I am right now” portray overthinking within a relationship, which resonated deeply with me.
The relatability, smooth vocals and calming violins in the background set my expectations high for the rest of the album — and this song is only one minute and 30 seconds long. However, it seemed too good to be just an introduction — I just wish it was longer.
This song is a classic breakup bounceback song. The intro reminds me of classic 2000s R&B hits like “No Scrubs” by TLC and “Say My Name” by Destiny’s Child — which was a refreshing change compared to Grande’s past albums, which mainly consisted of pop songs. Lyrics like “Now it’s just too late to choose me” represent confidence and finding your worth after being newly single.
The upbeat melody and catchy repetition of “Boy bye” throughout this song surprised me compared to the slow melody of the intro. The song is upbeat and lively while also embodying the resilience of a strong woman healing from her pain.
But the bridge of this song felt completely unnecessary and seemed to go totally against what the rest of the song was trying to portray. The melody slows down and Grande starts singing about how bittersweet ending the relationship is and how she could go back to him in the future, which completely contrasts with the confident “I don’t need you in my life” vibe from the rest of the song.
This song is catchy and seems like another classic Grande pop hit. But she should’ve cut the bridge out.
“don’t wanna break up again” illustrates Grande’s struggle knowing that she needs to leave a negligent partner, but not wanting to give up yet.
As Grande dives into how she feels like she is “too much” for her partner, I felt like I was right in the relationship with her. This song shows the emotional toll breaking up with someone can take on a person and how it’s important to find someone who can handle you and your emotions — an important message that everyone should listen to.
This song was a little slower than “bye” and I found myself getting bored within the first minute. Even though lyrics like “Won’t abandon me again for you and I” were extremely powerful, the melody was repetitive and it seemed like Grande was just saying “I feel bad breaking up with you” in different variations — which I found dull.
This “song” — which I don’t even know if you should call it that — proves my point that most interludes in any album are pointless.
I don’t understand why this was included so high up on the album. “saturn returns interlude” is a 41-second track explaining how our lives are similar to the cycle of Saturn, which illustrates the theme of this album, growing and evolving. I can see why Grande decided to put it in the album, however, it just seemed unnecessary.
The album’s namesake, “eternal sunshine” symbolizes the pain of a relationship ending after opening up to them. Lyrics like “I showed you all my demons, all my lies / Yet you played me like Atari” showed how opening up to someone doesn’t mean that a relationship is always going to work — an important theme that seemed different from other breakup songs on this album.
This song definitely shades her ex-husband, as she mentions how she hopes he feels good about himself after spreading lies about her and how she “found a good boy and he’s on my side” — once again addressing the rumors from last year.
The lyrics in this song are incredibly powerful and are already stuck in my head. I appreciated seeing Grande so vulnerable throughout this song and even though it was one of the slower tracks on the album, it was still one of my favorites.
“supernatural” is the strongest song vocally compared to other songs on this album. It showcased Grande’s elegant vocals, which I loved to hear as I felt like they weren’t seen as much in other songs.
This song is a pivotal moment on this album, as she changes from discussing a breakup to now being infatuated with a new partner. She refers to their connection as “supernatural” and the lyrics throughout this song reflect being obsessed with someone.
I appreciated how this song represented a hopeful beginning to a new relationship, but I did find lyrics on other songs that discussed the end of a relationship to be more relatable and powerful. Still, Grande’s voice paired with the background vocals wass angelic.
This song is even catchier than “bye” — which I didn’t even think was possible.
“the boy is mine” seems to hint at Grande’s cheating rumors, through lyrics like “I’m usually so unproblematic.” But this song is thematically similar to “supernatural,” as it depicts an early infatuation with a romantic partner in the beginning of a relationship.
There isn’t much depth behind this song, and while it’s a catchy, upbeat pop hit about wanting a man all to yourself, I found the repetition of “the boy is mine” annoying.
The leading and only single from this album, “yes, and?” is upbeat and fun — but not something I’d listen to by choice because of its annoying and repetitive melody.
The song seems like it was made to be played on repeat inside of a department store. The synth-like background instrumentals seem out of place compared to the softer instrumentals used in a majority of the other songs throughout the album.
“yes, and?” has a good message — being confident in yourself despite any struggles you may be going through. But I prefer songs with more depth and meaning rather than a song that seems like it was designed to be a pop radio hit.
This song had me sobbing. The meaning, vocals and powerful lyrics make it the best on the entire album.
“we can’t be friends (wait for your love)” is about being unable to stay friends with someone after a breakup. Lyrics like “I don’t wanna tiptoe, but I don’t wanna hide / But I don’t want to feed this monstrous fire” describe the painful struggle of staying in contact with someone after a breakup in an incredible way.
I loved how vulnerable Grande was on this song, and the struggle of keeping someone around after a breakup is a universal experience. The instrumentals build as she mentions she can’t be friends with her ex-partner anymore, but then die down again as she lists everything she loved about them — a pairing that added so much depth to this song.
“i wish i hated you” describes not feeling any hatred towards a person even after a breakup.
The song starts out with Grande reminiscing on the good times in a relationship. But the song strays away from being corny, through Grande’s powerful vocal performance as she gracefully sings alongside the song’s stunning background arrangement.
But I felt the chorus was lacking in vocal performance that the rest of the song had, as it was the same three notes repeated over and over again.
“i wish i hated you” has a good message: not every breakup has to end in hatred or ill will toward your ex-partner.
The second to last track of this album, “imperfect for you” distinguishes itself from the other songs through guitar chords, creating a unique sense of tension rather than harmony, which I loved.
This song explores the theme of accepting your partner’s flaws within a new relationship. I found lyrics like “And usually I’m f*cked up or anxious, too much / But I’ll love you like you need me to” extremely relatable, and I appreciated how she brought up how it’s hard to trust someone in a new relationship.
“ordinary things” ends the album on an optimistic note, but it also was extremely musically dynamic.
This song explores a similar message to other songs on the album about how a new relationship is exciting and nothing is ordinary when you truly love someone.
However, I found the lyrics super cliche. The entire first minute is Grande saying that the two of them can do anything they want, like “popping all the champagne in California.” But then the song shifts as Grande mentions she doesn’t need anything nice, just her partner’s time — she should’ve just started the song out that way.
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