Ariana Grande is gearing toward a number-one debut on the Billboard Hot 200 Albums with eternal sunshine and the Billboard Hot 100 Singles with “we can’t be friends (wait for your love).”
The excellence of her seventh album stretches beyond the boppy, assured “yes, and?” and vulnerable “we can’t be friends (wait for your love)” as Grande weaves a tapestry of love, pain and honor that is robust and tender.
don’t wanna break up again
“I fall asleep crying / you turn up the TV,” Grande declares just after telling her boy “bye” in the previous track. In ‘don’t wanna break up again,’ Grande grapples with the unfortunate possibility that she has to part ways with her partner. The third track is classic Grande, featuring a soft drumpad and meticulous vocal layering. Grande’s candid songwriting is akin to Rihanna’s ‘Unfaithful,’ as she reasons with her lover: “It’s breaking my heart / To keep breaking yours again.” Chimes and classic Ariana atmospheric harmonies bring the chapter to a close as Grande guides us through her ‘saturn return.’
supernatural
What will likely be the album’s third (and oft-ignored) single, ‘supernatural‘ is an assured, ethereal freefall into love (or lust). The track is sexy, with Grande’s deep lower tone crooning “Nothin’ еlse felt this way inside me”. As the story of eternal sunshine unravels, ‘supernatural’ is where Grande makes the relationship “go too far.” Grande’s voice coasts through the pink clouds until it finally soars in the track’s climax. And the Troye Sivan remix only amplifies the sexy as the duo reunite for the “slightly deluxe” edition of the album.
the boy is mine
Since the beginning of her career, Grande has accepted her fans’ opinions with a deep consideration (see: “you hit like my biggest fan when I hear what the critiques say”) ‘the boy is mine‘ is the result of a years long campaign for rompy, sexy R&B. The song is not only an homage to her fans’ (illegal) love of her (leaked) music, but to Grande’s own love of 90s R&B. Taking from the iconic Brandy & Monica collab, the eighth track serves as the fantasy set up by track seven wherein she releases her horny possessive nature. The bizarre, robotic synth in the chorus honors the experimentation of Darkchild’s production in the Grammy-winnning 90s hit. Fun and boppy, ‘the boy is mine’ is a gift in every essence.
i wish i hated you
Just after the electro-pop single ‘we can’t be friends (wait for ur love)’ lies a neon-tinted piano ballad that serves as a white flag for all her suffering. ‘i wish i hated you‘ relays Grande’s defeat in handling the complex feelings of heartbreak. The song is so effective, Grande claims that she “won’t listen to probably or sing live.” As she sings the song’s title during the second chorus, her voice whimpers, deflated by her complex grief. The track brings color to the song and album that resembles 2019’s heartbreaking ‘ghostin’,’ rounding out the complex journey on the album with the woe of accepting one’s fate.
imperfect for you
The penultimate track is an anthem for all the messy lovers around the world. ‘imperfect for you‘ crescendos into a minor key, a simple, yet brilliant delivery. As Grande offers herself up to “crash and burn,” she assures her lover that she will “love them like they need her to”. The choruses serve as a cosmic mirroring of souls, with Grande first explaining her dilemma of imperfection and then framing the lyrics as a statement from her lover in the second chorus. A companion piece to 2021’s ‘pov,’ ‘imperfect for you’ is a track that’s wholly Ariana Grande: in a state of eternal evolution but finding love in those who accept her in every peak and valley of that.
eternal sunshine is the quintessential Ariana Grande album—a sentiment to her evolution that solidifies the icon’s artistry, enrobed in the refined, raw electro-R&B that Grande is synonymous with. Though intentionally not the grandest showcase of her vocal, Grande instead uses her voice as an instrument to build the scarlet-colored world of the album. Just shy of 40 minutes, the album perfectly packages the complex stor(ies) that continue to follow Grande in just thirteen tracks.
