On March 8, Ariana Grande released her long-awaited seventh studio album, Eternal Sunshine, which immediately rose to the top of the charts, proving her status as a musical sensation. A month later, let’s take a closer look at the project’s impact and details. 

Grande shares that she is now in her healing era, as the album cover images Grande lying on her own shoulder, implying that this album is about healing and embracing herself. Furthermore, the singer added that this album marks her first “concept album,” which is inspired by the movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, a film that depicts the tale of ex-lovers who decide, once their relationship has gone awry, to compile their memories in record tapes and then undergo a medical procedure that eternally erases their memories of each other. However, upon returning to normal life post-operation, they soon encounter each other. They watch their tapes, learn of their love for each other, and decide to rekindle what they once had. Grande derives inspiration from this 2000s classic in her new album, intertwining the movie’s narrative with her personal experiences to develop a mature, relatable, and innovative body of work. 

With this project, Grande continues to establish herself as a prominent singer, songwriter, and producer with the prowess to be considered a musical legend. With the single “yes, and?” being the only peek into what the album may sound like, fans were skeptical of the album as the song was a deviation from her previous works’ sounds. The world did not know what to expect. 

But Grande did not disappoint. The album immediately shot to the top of the Billboard 200 chart and has since achieved a 4.7-star rating audience rating summary on Google. With Eternal Sunshine’s release, along came the single “we can’t be friends (wait for your love),” which debuted at no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, crowning Grande as the woman with the most no. 1 debuts on the Hot 100.

However, the album demonstrates not only the singer’s superstardom but also her versatility, blending various sounds and genres: songs such as “supernatural” and “we can’t be friends (wait for your love)” present synthesizer pop; meanwhile, “bye” and “yes, and?” bring dance; “true story” and “the boy is mine” revive Y2K pop and r&b; and “don’t wanna break up again,” along with the rest of the tracks, continue to transcend cookie-cutter genres and form a diverse miscellany of unique sounds. 

Furthermore, Grande shares she has no plans to end this era of her career, stating on Billboard that the “eternal sunshine cycle … has only just begun & may it never end.” It seems the accomplished artist still has some surprises up her sleeve. Although nothing has been revealed yet, we can still anticipate an announcement to come. Until then, if you still crave new content, watch Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, or check out some of Grande’s past albums and investigate how she has evolved as an artist. Nonetheless, as summer nears and the sun begins to shine warmer and longer, let us bask in the musical glory that is Eternal Sunshine.