Eternal Sunshie deluxe is an album that focuses on the true feelings of relationships. Whether that is romantic, friendly, or familial, Ariana touches on each subject. This album took me a while to listen to truthfully. As much as I love Ariana Grande, she always tends to only have a couple of singles on my playlists due to her pop demeanor with a slight touch of emotional aspects. As an example, I listen to a lot of her older music with few selections from her more recent albums such as sweetener and Thank U, Next. Eternal Sunshine though shows a lot of growth not only musically, but personally as well. I am a firm believer in coming up with your own connections to music, but with this album I was able to not only appreciate my own interpretation but understand Ariana more as an artist. Then with the development of her creating the deluxe version intrigued me more. During my overall listening experience of this album, there were tears, dancing, and intent listening happening. Ariana is able to captivate an audience not just with a sound, but with meaning attached to it.
I know within many of my reviews you hear me say things like, “This album changed me” or “There is so much more to the music than just a song”, but Eternal Sunshine invoked a different feeling on top of that. She made me feel. Compared to Lola Young’s album, This Wasn’t Meant For You Anyways, Ariana invokeda reflection in me that Lola did not. Within Lola’s album, I felt seen and understood. Knowing that even with fame, artists can feel the same way we do. But with Ariana, I started to reflect. Her song, i wish i hated you, hit me harder than expected. It is not often for women to speak on how there really are no bad feelings with an ex. It is usually mixed with hate for all the things that person did to you. Asking yourself why you didn’t leave. But Ariana sheds light on being happy moving on. In my own personal life, this experience is very real and something I had not considered until after listening. Accepting that life will not be perfect is a message that I will take with me.
Along with Ariana’s deluxe album release, she also released a short film corresponding to her new additions to the album. This short film is something I highly recommend watching once completing the first listen of the album. From my experience, the song Hampstead is portrayed in such a way that I do not think anyone would think of based off of just listening to the song. To touch on the topic before, Hampstead is a prime example of having your own interpretation but understanding and reflecting on the artist’s interpretation. Upon my first listen, I immediately understood it as a song about reflection and independence. No one should adhere to anyone or any past experiences just because of a vision the world has of you. The first line of the chorus really set that interpretation in place. But within the short film, Ariana’s father is depicted fixing his daughter and bringing her back to life. As well as sharing home videos from her childhood showing how connected the father daughter duo were. From watching this, the meaning of the song changed for me. As a graduating senior in college, understanding that your family life will never be the same and knowing that you will be a different person afterwards is hard to come to terms with. But that does not mean you have to abandon the people who made you who are.
All in all, Ariana invokes plenty of emotion for the listener to unpack in their own lives. My biggest suggestion to you readers is to watch the short film. It created a lot of space for reflection. Let me know what you all think!
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