Solé Scott- Features Editor
The famous singing ponytail is back and better than ever.
Ariana Grande released a new album titled “Eternal Sunshine” on March 8 which marks her seventh studio album since 2013.
The name derives from the 2004 film “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” which starred Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet.
The album has 17 tracks and is 48 minutes long.
At first, I was not feeling the project, but now I am slowly but surely digging her new era. The music is pop infused with R&B. Certain songs sounded like they would be played at Zara or Nordstrom to persuade customers to buy more items as they jam out to Grande’s hits.
The songs that are automatically bops are “yes, and?” “bye,” “we can’t be friends (wait for your love)” and “the boy is mine,” which is an interpolation of Brandy and Monica’s 1998 hit “The Boy Is Mine”.
This song could not have come out at a more perfect time, as Grande has been accused of stealing the married actor and father of one Ethan Slater. Grande has been relentlessly ridiculed and slut shamed all over the internet for not only stealing a married man but allegedly cheating on her husband Dalton Gomez.
Grande released the “we can’t be friends (wait for your love)” music video that displays her going to a clinic to erase memories of an ex.
Some fans speculate she wanted to erase memories of her ex-husband or another ex-lover that may have spoiled over the years, such as rapper Mac Miller who tragically died in 2019 or Pete Davidson who was a rebound after Grande and Miller broke up for good.
The album cover is different from those in her discography, as she is known for black and white, upside-down covers. For this project, she chose to have her back turned as she lays on a replicated version of her.
I am completely shocked and impressed that Grande was able to record, shoot music videos and set up photos all while she shot Broadway readaptation “Wicked” in England for almost two years.
Before this album was released, Grande had over 70 million monthly listeners on Spotify, which is impressive considering she has not released music since 2021. As of Friday, March 15, Grande has amassed over 83 million listeners, making her the first artist to have over 80 million listeners four times on Spotify.
As of now, there are currently no plans to tour, which is a bummer because this summer is the perfect time to kick off a nationwide concert. Yet, I totally respect her process of letting the audience have their own mini concert through their headphones or listening parties on X and TikTok.
Overall, this album has ushered in a new era of light, as Grande finally sheds all the negativity surrounding her personal life and career. This vulnerable album is a solid seven out of 10 in my books. In the future, as I continue to listen and watch some interviews she partakes in, the album rating will increase.
