On March 8, 2024, Ariana Grande gave the Billboard Hot 100™ list a run for its money with the release of her 7th studio album, “Eternal Sunshine,” aptly named as an ode to “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” one of her favorite movies from the 00s starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet. The album has 13 songs, including an intro to the album and a monologue interlude. This technique of having transitional songs shows how the chronological order of the album can more accurately convey the intended story. This process makes the care and effort Grande put not only into the music itself but also the completed outcome even more evident. The story woven together throughout the album makes the end product all the more beautifully intricate and compelling, which is a feat only some artists can achieve. Many critics and fans alike appreciated this sentiment, and Grande’s industry stats soared high as she broke record after record on well-known music companies like Spotify and Billboard. The most notable songs on the album that have spent a solid chunk of time on the top of Billboard’s Top 100 list include “yes, and,” which was released as a single in January —and track #9 on the album— as well as “we can’t be friends,” which was track #10 on the album. Grande has said herself as part of her Instagram stories and posts that this era of “Eternal Sunshine” is not over yet and instead is only beginning.
Grande kept her fans on the edge of their seats while living up to the promise of more projects from the era by coming out with remixes of her songs. Remixes were made for “yes, and” and “supernatural” (track #6), with features from pop legend Mariah Carey and Australian indie artist Troye Sivan, respectively. Carey’s career has spanned decades, and her talented range and whistle notes came out in the remix of “yes, and.” Sivan’s discography has gained more and more traction over the years with the release of many EPs and albums, the most recent coming out in Oct. 2023 with the name “Something to Give Each Other.” His acting career has also been notable, as he appeared in HBO’s hit series “The Idol” with Lily-Rose Depp and Abel Tesfaye, who is known better as critically acclaimed artist The Weeknd. (Fun Fact: Tesfaye is also a notable collaborator Grande has worked with many times, and whom Grande has mentioned fondly over the years, as they made remixes together quite recently).
From a marketing standpoint, Grande has also heavily delivered her promise that the “eternal sunshine cycle…has only just begun” by releasing many vinyls, merch, and cassettes of her album. The vinyls have a couple of different exclusive prints, and the release of a record version of her album gives more credence to the 90s vibe of both the album and its music. The 90s mood has been noticed by fans and listeners, especially since more people keep circling back to the idea that the album was meant to be played in a specific order to tell her newest story. Fans have loved this new era and mood that Grande and her team set, and the album has blown up on social media, especially on TikTok and Instagram, as dances, lip syncs, funny videos, and many more have been created using Grande’s newest project.
My personal favorites from the album include “don’t wanna break up” (track #3), “the boy is mine” (track #8), and the “supernatural” remix with the feature from Troye Sivan. “we can’t be friends” has gotten quite cozy at the top of all types of hit lists, from Billboard’s, to Spotify’s Top Ten, to SiriusXM’s Top #1 Hits, and I’ve enjoyed every replay immensely. The full album can be streamed on Spotify, Pandora, Apple Music, and YouTube, while snippets or samples can be seen on platforms such as Instagram and TikTok.
