“Eternal sunshine” was the first Ariana Grande album I listened to, in its entirety, and it simply blew me away — and the deluxe: “brighter days ahead” did too.  

She’s always been an interesting artist to me, but I never felt compelled to dive into her full works — just whatever inevitably played on the radio. Her previous albums, from the bits I heard through singles, never intrigued me enough to say, “Oh! I should listen to this.” 

But, “eternal Sunshine” was different — something about the album cover and the first track encouraged me to listen, and I’m so glad I did.  

Since then, I’ve played the album every now and then. On March 10, Grande announced a deluxe version of the album, along with a short film accompanying the release. I enjoyed the thematic and conceptual aspects of the studio release — the softer, elegant and almost sophisticated sound — so I was ready to hear whatever tracks she had in store.

They did not disappoint. 

The six new tracks added a layer of depth to her already stellar and emotional album. They seemed to explore a haunting presence within the “eternal Sunshine” narrative from the original conceptual work. The bittersweet pop-synth shimmer running throughout fits perfectly. 

My favorite song from the deluxe has to be “dandelion.” Its jazzy horns and melodic trap beats work fantastically well as Grande sings about seeking new romance, sowing seeds of love and struggling to shake off old memories. 

Something I really appreciated was the addition of a short film (directed by Grande and Christian Breslauer), where Grande revisited her heroine, Peaches, from her “we can’t be friends” music video. Seeing artists not only mature with their voice, writing talents and artistic instincts but also embrace a new art form is incredible. 

These six new tracks not only wrap “eternal sunshine” in a clandestine red bow but also beautifully and poetically affirm that “brighter days ahead” is an unhappy ending — letting go of memories is hard work but the silver lining is knowing there is work to be done about it.

DELUXE TRACK RANKINGS: 

1. dandelion
2. intro (end of the world) – extended
3. Hampstead
4. warm
5. twilight zone
6. past life

Categories: Arts & Entertainment