“I’ll play the bad girl if you need me to / If it makes you feel better” – “true story” (Track seven on “eternal sunshine”)
After three years of anticipation, pop megastar Ariana Grande released her seventh album on Friday, March 8. The album spans a total of 35 minutes, being Grande’s shortest album yet, and further conveys Grande’s nonchalance initially established by the album’s lead single “yes and?.” However, unlike the single, the album delves into a wider range of emotions, addressing the singer’s recent controversies, romance issues and frustration towards how the media has portrayed her.
The album’s emotional range is one of its strengths, with Grande incorporating heartbreaking lyrics in tracks like “we can’t be friends (wait for your love)” and “imperfect for you”: in “we can’t be friends (wait for your love),” Grande uncovers secrets from her previous marriage which is further expressed in the song’s music video. In the video, Grande depicts how her ex-husband cheated on her and disregarded her emotions, going as far as to turn the volume up on the television to drown out her crying. Contrastingly, “imperfect for you” delves into the insecurities that Grande generally faces in her relationships, particularly when it comes to the way she expresses her love and the imperfections that she finds within herself, demonstrating how the new album is the singer’s unfiltered response to everything that has been haunting her over the years.
Grande also utilizes her iconic synths throughout the album — however, unlike her past albums, the production in these tracks is more strategic, complementing her vocals and creating cohesive tracks in terms of lyricism, vocals and production. Furthermore, the production in “eternal sunshine” essentially focuses more on Grande’s voice, whereas her past albums incorporated loud synths and backing tracks that drowned out her voice. One example of this is with “supernatural,” which incorporates Grande’s signature airy harmonies and synths that enable the track to live up to its name.
Similar to her other albums, but more emphasized in this one, Grande proves in each and every song that her voice is just as strong as it has been for the past decade. The background vocals in “eternal sunshine,” as well as multi-octave harmonies, provide an angelic feeling when listening to her songs, and “supernatural” is a clear example of this. She also shines with her raw vocals, as seen in “i wish i hated you,” further proving the singer’s strong and unique vocal talent.
However, despite Grande’s success with producing individual tracks, they seem repetitive when played back-to-back, with each song not having its own unique identity. The same slow, melodic tune with her background vocals creates emotional masterpieces when paired with the lyrics and Grande’s ethereal vocals — however this tune was present in most of the songs with a few exceptions, such as “bye” and “yes, and?” which were more upbeat, watering down the magic that is present within the songs upon first listen.
In addition, Grande’s choice for a lead single was illogical — “yes, and?” was one of the album’s lower quality songs both lyrically and emotionally, and it fails to encapsulate the true meaning of “eternal sunshine.” Although Grande redeemed herself with the second single “we can’t be friends (wait for your love),” it’s debatable whether this decision is enough to compensate for her lapse of judgment with “yes, and?.”
Yet the album as a whole does not disappoint, with the vocals, lyricism and themes creating an unforgettable listening experience for those who can get past the initial similarities that the songs share. Grande has only improved with every new release, but “eternal sunshine” surpasses all other releases on every front — lyricism, vocals, emotions and overall quality — proving that Grande is here to stay in the music industry.
3.5/5
