In today's article we are going to talk about Eternal Sunshine (album). Eternal Sunshine (album) is a topic that has generated interest and debate for a long time. This person/topic/date has had a significant impact on society at large, and it is important to understand its importance and relevance in today's world. Throughout this article, we will explore different aspects of Eternal Sunshine (album), from its history to its influence today, with the aim of providing a more complete and broader view of this topic. We hope that by the end of this article, readers have gained a greater understanding and appreciation of Eternal Sunshine (album).
Grande derived the album's title from the 2004 American film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. She conceived the album as a record of both vulnerability and entertainment, inspired by her personal life experiences. Upon release, Eternal Sunshine received acclaim from critics for its restrained vocals and music, and the emotional vulnerability of the subject matter, while some critiqued the songwriting as unrefined.
In the United States, the album opened at number one on the Billboard 200, marking her sixth number-one on the chart. Its singles "Yes, And?" and "We Can't Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)" debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100, making Grande the woman with the most Hot 100 number-one debuts. Eternal Sunshine topped the record charts in thirteen other countries. Grande promoted and discussed the album on programs hosted by radio personalities Zach Sang and Zane Lowe and was the musical guest of Saturday Night Live on March 9, 2024.
The standard edition of Eternal Sunshine does not contain guest musical acts, but features spoken words from Grande's maternal grandmother Marjorie Grande on "Ordinary Things" and astrologer Diana Garland on "Saturn Returns Interlude". An extended edition of the album, including versions of four tracks from the standard album, was released on March 10, 2024. The additional tracks feature Australian singer Troye Sivan and American singer Mariah Carey.
Background
On May 12, 2022, 19 months after the release of her sixth studio album, Positions (2020), Ariana Grande clarified that she would not be recording another album until she is done filming Wicked (2024), the film adaptation of the Broadway musical of the same name, in which she portrays the character Glinda. In October 2023, she first jokingly hinted at a forthcoming album by posting "ag7: goat mother" as an Instagram caption. A set of pictures included a photo of her with Swedish producer and long-time collaborator Max Martin at Jungle City Studios in New York City.
On December 7 and December 17 2023, Grande shared a series of pictures and video clips working in recording studios and her editing audio files. As opposed to previous eras, she specifically stated that there would be no song snippets for the upcoming record. On December 27 2023, the singer confirmed a 2024 album release via her social media. She posted a carousel of videos on her Instagram that show her crying in a recording studio and her mother Joan dancing to a new song of hers, amongst others. She captioned the post "See you next year" and tagged several accounts, including Swedish musician Ilya Salmanzadeh, music video director Christian Breslauer, and Republic Records. She referred to the picture of her crying and another one which depicts her dancing as the "two moods of the album". Packages with R.E.M. Beauty's On Your Collar lipstick in the shade "Attention" including a defocused close-up shot of Grande's red lips and the caption of an Instagram post she would make a few days after delivery, were sent to fans. On January 17, 2024, Grande announced the album, its title Eternal Sunshine, and release date via her social media.
Conception
Grande described Eternal Sunshine as "kind of a concept album" comprising "different heightened pieces of the same story, of the same experience". She explained that the record spans from "really vulnerable" songs to playful tracks which see her emulating "what people kind of expect me to be sometimes and having fun with it". Wendy Goldstein, co-president of Republic Records, described the record as an "elevated version" of Grande's previous albums, calling it an embodiment of "Sweetener meets Thank U, Next".
Recording and production
In a video shared to her social media of her previewing some songs of the album to Republic Records personnel, Grande revealed that after the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike forced the filming of Wicked to be paused temporarily, she "came " and begun work on the record that September. She further revealed that she worked with Max Martin for a few weeks, and handled production on her own as well. "Proper" vocal recordings and orchestrations were arranged in November. Work on the album concluded in late December 2023. Referring to the period of making Eternal Sunshine, Grande stated that "things kind of just pouring out and happening very quickly".
Music and lyrics
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Eternal Sunshine is a pop and R&B album that features elements of dance music, especially synth-pop and house music. Helen Brown of The Independent described it as a "slow-fizz pop" album, consisting of mid-tempo synths, strings and muted guitar. Jem Aswad of Variety felt that Martin and Salmanzadeh imbued the album with a "very Swedish vibe and structure to the tracks" inspired by classic pop, a style atypical of Anglo-American musicians. Lyrically, the album is a combination of both "ultra-confident and entirely self-deprecating" themes, inspired by Grande's personal relationships.Billboard described it as an introspective record—one in which Grande reflects on herself as she enters her 30s in age.
Songs
Eternal Sunshine's opening track, "Intro (End of the World)", primarily includes strings and a morose guitar. The song describes Grande's anxieties with her partner, and the possibility of its end. The second song, "Bye", was described by Grande as the hardest song on the album for her to write, saying "It was hard for the reason that I desperately didn't want it to sound like a 'fuck you.' I wanted it to sound like, 'I need to leave, so bye'". The third track, "Don't Wanna Break Up Again", discusses the conflicting feelings she had towards the end of her relationship with Dalton Gomez. While referring to it as a "situationship" that she's aware needs to end, the song shows a reluctancy to go through with ending the marriage and describes the steps she went through to try to save it, i.e. therapy.Rolling Stone described the first three tracks of the album as "Seventies pop".
The album's interlude, "Saturn Returns", prominently samples a YouTube video of astrologer Diana Garland, as she discusses the importance of the age of 29 in a person's life. She urges the listener to "wake up" and "sort out who you really are" before the album's fifth and title track. The interlude fades directly into "Eternal Sunshine", during which Ariana seems to come to terms with the faults of her partner and their relationship. In the track, she hints that Gomez may have cheated during their relationship and displays an uncertainty towards her future over an "R&B-pop" beat. "Supernatural", the sixth track on the album, has a low-tempo R&B beat. The lyrics are about how Grande is in love with someone and is inseparable. Grande lets this love take over her entire state of mind. The lyrics also show that Grande is healing from heartbreak and is ready to love again. Billboard ranked "Supernatural" number 8 out of Eternal Sunshine, and compared it to "Breathin'" of off Sweetener, as both songs are "undeniable home runs and surefire pure-pop smashes." The seventh track, "True Story", and eighth track, "The Boy is Mine", were intentionally placed together in the track list and are both described as R&B songs echoing music from the '90s and 2000s. The former is described by Grande as "an untrue story based on all untrue events" with a "slinky R&B bounce" and elements of G-funk in its production. The latter song was inspired by the positive reactions received from the leaked track, "Fantasize", by fans of Grande. The song is an "elevated version of " and also a "reimagining" of the 1998 song of the same name. "Yes, And" served as the album's lead single. The ninth track is an uptempo and "effervescent" pop-house song with elements of ballroom in its production.
Release and promotion
Mariah Carey (left) and Troye Sivan (right) are featured on remixes of "Yes, And?" and "Supernatural", respectively, on the "Slightly Deluxe" album.
Republic Records released Eternal Sunshine on March 8, 2024. It was issued via streaming, download, five CD variants, and six vinyl LP variants. Pre-orders began on January 17, the day the album was announced. On March 10, a digital deluxe edition of the album, called "Slightly Deluxe", was surprise-released via Grande's webstore; featuring four bonus tracks including a remix of "Supernatural" with Troye Sivan, and the pre-released Mariah Carey remix of "Yes, And?". The "Slightly Deluxe" edition was released to streaming services the day after.
Marketing
The tracklist of the album was not unveiled entirely at once. Grande revealed song titles and their track order on separate days, starting on January 27, 2024, with tracks 1, 5, and "Yes, And?" as track 9. Tracks 2, 6, and 10 were revealed on February 7, followed by tracks 3, 7, and 11 on February 17, and tracks 4, 8, 12, and 13 on February 27. Additionally, Grande revealed some lyrics from the album via her social media on February 27. A teaser for the album, featuring the singer at a photo shoot for one of the cover artworks, was released on March 6, 2024.
Grande appeared on the Zach Sang Show for a double-episode interview to discuss the album. The first episode was released on February 27, 2024, and was centered around the creative process. The second episode was released on March 8, wherein Grande details each song. She also appeared on Apple Music 1 for an interview by Zane Lowe, which was broadcast on March 7, 2024.
Title and artwork
The title of the album is a reference to the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004). It stars Jim Carrey, who Grande has expressed she's a fan of and whose show, Kidding, she had guest-starred on. The title Eternal Sunshine was teased via two Easter eggs. The first was in the opening scene of the music video of the lead single, "Yes, And?". It depicts a red card that has the acronym "AG7" on the frontside, with the geographical coordinates 41.0359° N, 71.9545° W mentioned below it—which locate Montauk, New York, a key location of the film. The second was when Grande shared a few lines of Alexander Pope's poem Eloisa to Abelard on her Instagram, including: "Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!".
Seven cover variants of Eternal Sunshine were issued: a standard vinyl cover, four DTC variations via Grande's website, a retail-exclusive CD cover (which also serves as the "Yes, And? single artwork), and a Target-exclusive in the United States. The digital cover depicts the back of Grande's head, with her dressed in a white outfit and her blonde hair styled in a ponytail, resting on the shoulder of a similarly dressed woman that is "a clone of herself". Three covers, and the "Yes, And?" cover, were unveiled with the album's announcement. The remaining three alternate covers were revealed throughout January and February. Through the promotional material of the album, Grande sports a Maison Margiela outfit—a white bodysuit and a pair of red tulle gloves. She stated that the different artworks "capture the emotional ups and downs of the album".
Singles
"Yes, And?", the lead single of Eternal Sunshine, was released on January 12, 2024, via streaming services. It was also issued in 7-inch, CD single and cassette formats. The song's accompanying music video, directed by Christian Breslauer, was released on the same day via Grande's Vevo channel on YouTube. The title of the song was teased by Grande days before release when she was photographed wearing a sweatshirt with the title printed on the front. "Yes, And?" debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100, marking Grande's eighth number-one single in the US. It also topped the Global 200, Global Excl. US, and Canadian Hot 100; and reached the top five in numerous countries including Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Multiple versions and mixes of the song were released, including a remix featuring Mariah Carey in February.
On February 5, Grande announced via her social media that no more pre-release singles would follow "Yes, And?". Explaining her reason, Grande said that she wanted fans to "experience in full this time", but did confirm that singles will be released after the album.
"We Can't Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)" followed as the second single on March 8, 2024. Its music video—also directed by Breslauer—was described by Grande as her "own short version of ". The song debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100, marking Grande's ninth chart-topper and seventh number-one debut. With this, Grande surpassed Taylor Swift as the woman with the most number-one debuts on the chart. "We Can't Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)" also topped the Global 200, and the charts in seven other countries, including New Zealand, Malaysia, and United Arab Emirates.
Performances
Grande appeared as the musical guest on the March 9, 2024, episode of Saturday Night Live. It marked her third appearance on the show and her first since 2016. She performed "We Can't Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)" and "Imperfect for You".
On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized score out of 100 to ratings from professional publications, Eternal Sunshine received a weighted mean score of 84, based on 19 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". In a rave review, Brittany Spanos of Rolling Stone commended Eternal Sunshine as "some of the most honest and inventive music of her career" and dubbed the album as an "instant classic". Various other critics, such as NME's Nick Levine,AllMusic's Neil Z. Yeung,Clash's Emma Harrison,The Guardian's Laura Snapes, and The New York Times' Lindsay Zoladz, dubbed it one of Grande's stronger, most sophisticated albums yet, highlighting the perceived maturity of its subject matter.
The album's musical tonality was often complimented. Harry Tafoya of Pitchfork, Moses Jeanfrancois of Beats Per Minute, Jem Aswad of Variety, and Mary Siroky of Consequence emphasized Grande's "raw", subtle and restrained vocals, which they thought focused on texture instead of showcasing her vocal range. Zoladz regarded Eternal Sunshine one of Grande's "texturally consistent" releases. In contrast, Helen Brown of The Independent found this tone rather conversational, lacking "strong melodic snags".
A number of critics offered criticism on the album's songwriting. Poppie Platt of The Daily Telegraph and David Cobbald of The Line of Best Fit regarded the album a "slickly" produced pop record, albeit with some underwhelming tracks and simple lyrics. According to Tafoya, Grande often settles for "stock phrases or scrambles for syllables", while Siroky observed a lack of conceptual focus in the lyrics, and Green claimed some tracks to be insubstantial. In an unfavorable review, Robert Sona of Sputnikmusic blamed the songwriting for making the album an "unambitious" output.
Several reviews praised Martin's production, emphasizing his stylistic influence on Eternal Sunshine. Sona credited Grande's "concise" team of producers—Martin, Salmanzadeh and Davidior—for helping the album feel like "a singular and shapely work of art" unlike Positions. Jeanfrancois considered the sound a return to 1990s' R&B, "something that has been avidly requested" by fans and critics. However, Slant Magazine's Sal Cinquemani agreed with Platt in critiquing the album for not venturing outside Grande's familiar music styles.
Eternal Sunshine's perceived status as a "divorce album" sparked a critical debate. Snapes described the album as a perceptive, "post-divorce" record. Tafoya opined Eternal Sunshine is not "as cohesive of a divorce record" as Adele's 30 (2021), whereas Jeanfrancois said it is "by no means a divorce album".
Commercial performance
On its release day, Eternal Sunshine received 58.1 million streams on Spotify globally, setting the record for the most-streamed album in a single day in 2024 at the time. which was later surpassed by Future and Metro Boomin's We Don't Trust You. All 12 chart-eligible tracks from the album simultaneously appeared on both the BillboardGlobal 200 and Global Excl. U.S. charts. On the former, ten tracks appeared within the top-25 region, led by "We Can't Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)," which debuted at number-one on both charts, the album's second chart-topper after "Yes, And?".
United States
Eternal Sunshine debuted at number-one on the US Billboard 200 chart with 227,000 album-equivalent units, including 194.92 million on-demand streams and 77,000 album sales in its first week. It became Grande's sixth number-one album and her third-largest opening week sales, trailing behind Thank U, Next (360,000) and Sweetener (231,000). It was the most consumed album of the week, debuting at number-one on both BillboardTop Streaming Albums and Top Album Sales charts, marking Grande's sixth chart-topper on the latter. Furthermore, it became her second number-one album on the BillboardVinyl Albums chart. With 33,000 vinyl sales, Grande had her best vinyl sales week yet, exceeding Positions (32,000). At the time of its release, Eternal Sunshine achieved the largest US sales debut of 2024, surpassing Kanye West and Ty Dolla Sign's Vultures 1 (148,000 units). In its second week, the album remained at number one on the chart, with a furthered 100,500 album-equivalent units, including 115.05 million on-demand streams and 13,000 album sales. It was Grande's third consecutive album to spend its first two weeks at number one, following Thank U, Next and Positions. In its third week, the album slipped to number three on the chart, moving 72,000 units.
On the Billboard Hot 100 chart issue dated March 23, 2024, all 12 chart-eligible tracks appeared simultaneously, becoming Grande's third consecutive album to do so, following Thank U, Next (12 songs) and Positions (14 songs). 11 of them were new entries; 10 of those songs appeared in the top 40. Grande's career Hot 100 count expanded to 85 entries, tying her with Beyoncé for the third-most among women. The number-one debut of the second single "We Can't Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)" marked Grande's first instance of simultaneously debuting atop both the Billboard 200 and Hot 100 charts. It also made her the first woman to have two albums with multiple number-one debuts in the US, after Thank U, Next (2019).[note 1] Additionally, Grande's grandmother, Marjorie Grande, made her first appearance on the Billboard Hot 100 with the album track "Ordinary Things," credited as Nonna; this made Marjorie the oldest act ever to have appeared on the Hot 100, at the age of 98.
Aided by the album's strong chart-performance, Grande ascended to number-one on the BillboardArtist 100 chart for the sixteenth non-consecutive week, the sixth-most for any artist since the chart's inception. Furthermore, it also marked Grande's first instance of reaching the top of both the BillboardHot 100 Songwriters and Hot 100 Producers charts. This made her the fourth artist and second woman ever to top the Artist 100, Hot 100, Billboard 200, Hot 100 Songwriters, and Hot 100 Producers charts simultaneously. She remained at number-one on the Hot 100 Songwriters chart for two consecutive weeks.
Internationally
In the United Kingdom, Eternal Sunshine debuted at number-one on the UK Albums Chart, becoming Grande's fifth consecutive number-one album. It also debuted at number-one on the UK's Official Vinyl Albums Chart. With five number-one albums each, Grande joined Celine Dion and Lady Gaga as the female artists with the sixth-most number-one albums in the United Kingdom. It remained at number-one for two consecutive weeks. Furthermore, the album's singles "Yes, And?" and "We Can't Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)" both peaked at number-two on the UK Singles Chart. The album also debuted atop the Irish Albums Chart, marking Grande's fifth consecutive number-one album in Ireland.
In Canada, Eternal Sunshine debuted atop the BillboardCanadian Albums Chart, earning Grande her fifth number-one album there. It remained at number-one for two consecutive weeks. Upon release, all 12 chart-eligible tracks from the album appeared simultaneously on the Canadian Hot 100. "Yes, And?" debuted at number-one, becoming Grande's seventh chart-topper, and "We Can't Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)" debuted at number-three, marking her 23rd top ten hit in the country.
In Australia, Eternal Sunshine debuted at number-one on the ARIA Albums Chart, marking Grande's fifth chart-topping album in the country. It remained at number-one for three consecutive weeks. Furthermore, seven tracks from the album appeared simultaneously on the ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart, with "We Can't Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)" debuting at number-two, becoming Grande's 20th top-ten hit in the country and the highest-charting song from the album, alongside "Yes, And?" which formerly peaked at number-two.
In New Zealand, Eternal Sunshine debuted atop the NZ Top 40 Albums Chart, becoming Grande's fifth chart-topping album there. It remained at number-one for two consecutive weeks. Furthermore, nine tracks from the album simultaneously appeared on the NZ Top 40 Singles Chart, with "We Can't Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)" becoming Grande's seventh number-one single and the highest-charting single from the album, surpassing "Yes, And?" which formerly peaked at number-three.
Impact
Whether she's layering harmonies over a melody line or vocal arranging an entire bridge on the fly, the superstar's mastery over her instrument only continues to grow with each new album.
Eternal Sunshine was the subject of major media attention prior to and after its release. The album's visual aesthetic was recreated by numerous brands.Vanity Fair's Savannah Walsh stated that in the hours after the album's release, viewership of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind had doubled on Vudu, according to Fandango.
Forbes discussed Grande's strong chart performance and quick accumulation of chart-toppers on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, following Eternal Sunshine's singles "Yes, And?" and "We Can't Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)" debuting atop the chart, setting "Ariana Grande seems to hit No. 1 on the Hot 100 any time she has a new single to share with the masses. The American public loves her and the music she makes; has scored all nine of her Hot 100 leaders in just over half a decade. That's an incredibly short span of time to earn that many champions, considering there are many, many other artists who have yet to come even close to that sum, even though they've been attempting to do so for longer than Grande has".
In a review of Eternal Sunshine, York Vision's Matthew Ennis also stated the "Music Icon Status" that Grande possesses in music industry and emphasized how "Eternal Sunshine is just another example of Grande's visionary skills as an artist who deserves her legacy as one of the most defining musical talents of our time".
^"Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 11.Týden 2024 on the field besides the words "CZ – ALBUMS – TOP 100" to retrieve the correct chart. Retrieved March 18, 2024.