The last album that Ariana Grande produced was Positions in 2020 then, on March 8th, 2024 she released her newest album eternal sunshine. The album reflects on her recent relationship and divorce. It creates a story while also reflecting her personal life. The creation of eternal sunshine was unexpected since her producer didn’t want to release any music until after the release of “Wicked”. However, since the SAG-AFTRA strikes began, Grande saw herself back in the studio working on her 7th studio album.
Intro (End of the World):
The first song on the album titled, “Intro(End of the World)”, introduces two of the main love interests in Grande’s life, a current partner and another man. Grande expresses feelings of uncertainty about her current partner saying things such as “How can I tell if I’m in the right relationship?” This paves the way for the rest of the album where she explores her current relationship and the kind of relationship she could have with someone else.
bye:
“bye” is the second song on the eternal sunshine album. It’s the start of the breakup after rethinking her relationship. She starts the song with “Bye-bye, boy, bye” which is a continuous lyric throughout the song. Grande tells the story of leaving what is a seemingly toxic relationship. The song is not meant to sound aggressive or like an attack on the ex-partner but rather that Grande had no choice but to leave. The lyric “So I grab my stuff, Courtney just pulled up” is an homage to her real-life friend Courtney Chipolone. Each song is intentionally placed one after the other to continue telling the story in the way it happened in her life; “Intro (End of the World)” and “bye” are examples of that.
don’t wanna break up again:
The third song of eternal sunshine, “don’t wanna break up again”, outlines the aftermath of a breakup. The adrenaline of finally getting out of a relationship she’s been wanting to leave is gone, and now she’s finally grieving. She refers to the man this song is about as a “situationship”. A situationship refers to romantic feelings between two people without the commitment of exclusivity. Many people assume that eternal sunshine is about Ariana Grande’s past relationship with her ex-husband, Dalton Gomez, and current boyfriend, Ethan Slater. Fans were not happy that Grande was referring to her two-year marriage as a “situationship”.
Saturn Returns Interlude:
In astrology, a Saturn return is when Saturn is in the same spot in its orbit as it was the day of your birth. Saturn takes 29 years to orbit. A lot of people believe that their Saturn return is the entry of the next stage of their life. Diana Garland, a retired astronomer who now resides on YouTube, is a featured voice in Grande’s song “Saturn Returns Interlude”. This interlude represents Grande finally “waking up” and leaving this relationship she’s been stuck in for so long. The song begins with Diana Garland explaining Saturn’s return. The song is 42 seconds long and is composed of Diana Garland explaining why Saturn’s return is so important, Garland says “Or relying, you know, just kind of floating along/ Saturn comes along and hits you over the head”.
eternal sunshine:
eternal sunshine is a concept album inspired by the film “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” directed by Michel Gondry. Jim Carrey, whom Grande is a big fan of, plays the protagonist, Joel. In the film. Joel goes through a procedure to erase the memories he has with Joel’s ex-girlfriend, Clementine. In the song, “eternal sunshine”, Grande talks about her experiences with her ex-partner. Lyrics such as “I don’t care what people say” and “We both know I couldn’t change you” show how she feels about this ex and suggest that their break up was probably a bit messy. Using lyrics such as “So I try to wipe my mind/ Just so I feel less insane”, Grande references the movie “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” and how Joel erases the memories of his ex-girlfriend.
supernatural:
“supernatural”, the 6th track on eternal sunshine, starts unraveling the storyline of Grande’s new boyfriend. “This love’s possessing me, but I don’t mind at all”, shows Grande is in the stage of falling in love with this mystery man. The song then further explains her feelings of finally moving on to him.
true story:
“true story” is a song similar to “break up with your girlfriend, i’m bored” from Ariana Grande’s album Thank U, next. Both songs are an attack on the people judging Grande’s love life and calling them out. In the song, she proclaims that the love she feels for her new partner isn’t her fault. Grande states “No, this is not what I need/ Not what I want”, explaining that she never wanted her feelings to happen. The title of “true story” actually contradicts what the song is about. It is about the rumors of Grande and Ethan Slater and their romance. Slater’s ex-wife has made comments about Grande claiming “she is not a girls girl”. The term “girls girl” references a girl who supports and uplifts other women which means that Ethan Slater’’s ex-wife was saying that Grande goes against other women rather than supporting them.
the boy is mine:
In 1998, two girls by the names of Brandy and Monica released a song called “The Boy is Mine”. March 8th, 2024 Ariana Grande released a song of the same name which is very similar to the original. Similarly to “true story”, Grande toys with the rumors of her love life in this song. Grande goes on to explain how she isn’t trying to be problematic but is so infatuated with this boy that she can’t help it. The original song was a message of possessiveness but Grande’s version is a message of helplessness, like she can’t help that they like each other but, she still isn’t sorry.
yes, and?:
eternal sunshine heavily addresses the rumors surrounding her and Ethan Slater. In “Yes, and?” Grande addresses the rumors that she started dating Ethan Slater while he was married. Once again Grande exclaims that she doesn’t care about rumors and will continue to live her life. “Yes, and?” came out on January 12th, 2024 as a single. A few days later, the eternal sunshine tracklist was revealed.
we can’t be friends (wait for your love):
The second eternal sunshine track to have a music video the first being “yes, and?”- is “we can’t be friends (wait for your love)”. The music video features Evan Peters playing the love interest, and Ariana Grande playing a character named Peaches. The music video is inspired once again by the movie “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind ”. Peaches gets her memories of her ex (Evan Peters) removed and the music video takes us through all of the good memories of the past that she is erasing. In the end, Peaches and the love interest pass by each other, and since they have no recollection of one another, they don’t even give each other a second look. This track continues the storyline of Grande and her partners, showing how she now feels about her ex.
i wish i hated you:
“i wish i hated you” faces the reality of a breakup. The harsh truth of how painful a breakup is. Grande talks about how grieving a relationship is so much easier when you hate the person. This reveals that she truly doesn’t hate the person she used to be in love with but wishes she did. “I wish I hated you/ I wish that weren’t true/ Wish there was worse to you/ I wish you were worse to me” shows that Grande is wishing that her ex was a bad person so that leaving him would be easier.
imperfect for you:
The second to last track on eternal sunshine, starts with Grande inviting someone on a date by saying, “My boy, come take my hand / Throw your guitar and your clothes in the back seat.” Fans believe that this is about Grande’s co-star and boyfriend, Ethan Slater, who is known for playing guitar on stage. On the “Zach Sang Show” Zach asks “what was the last song you wrote for eternal sunshine?” Grande responds “imperfect for you, which is my favorite”.
Ordinary Things:
Grande is known to always record her grandmother, also known as Nona, in case she says something Grande likes. In this song, Nona answers the question of “How can I tell if I’m in the right relationship?” mentioned in “Intro (End of the World)”. While talking about her late husband, Grande’s grandfather, Nona talks about how she felt when he got home from work, saying “It was like God almighty arrived”. This closing track ends the album with Grande figuring out how the right relationship should feel by getting advice from a woman she loves dearly.
