Ariana Grande's Resilience is More Radiant than Ever on 'eternal sunshine deluxe: brighter days ahead'
- Abby Anderson
- Mar 31
- 3 min read
Stand-out tracks: "twilight zone" "past life"
Our favorites: "dandelion" "warm"
Release date: March 28, 2025
Label: Republic Records
For fans of: Sabrina Carpenter, Lady Gaga, Dua Lipa
Between 2016 and 2020, absolutely no one was a bigger pop star than Ariana Grande; she released four full-length studio albums, headlined two international tours, took home multiple GRAMMYs, and smashed records upheld by legendary artists like The Beatles. When she returned to music last spring with eternal sunshine, Ariana reclaimed her power as an artist in a way she never had before. Lyrically, she had rarely been so honest, free, reflective, and undoubtedly sure of herself. She made her production debut alongside longtime collaborator (and producer legend) Max Martin. Her unparalleled vocal range had somehow gotten even stronger. The woman who had always dominated the art of the radio hit single intentionally released all but one of the album's thirteen tracks together as a complete project, proving she could produce a concept album just as well as individual pop smashes. The 35-minute eternal sunshine album was concise, dynamic, and didn't have a single skip.
Now, a full Earth rotation later, Ariana has returned to the world of eternal sunshine with eternal sunshine deluxe: brighter days ahead, released March 28 via Republic Records. With the addition of six new songs, which may be among some of the most dazzling of her discography, eternal sunshine deluxe: brighter days ahead serves as a stellar epilogue to the original album where heartbreak glows darker through every line, hope glistens through every stunning note, and the future for Ariana Grande shimmers with promise that her brightest days really are still yet to come.
This new chapter of eternal sunshine starts with the familiarity of the original album's "intro (end of the world)," which sets up the themes and imagery of the album, but now there's more to add to the story. With "intro (end of the world) - extended," Ariana is no longer questioning her doubts in life and love but rather reclaiming her own fate, no matter the cost. She sings, "I broke your heart because you broke mine / To me, I am the bad guy / Cause I already grieved you and you started to realize / I do need you, I did / I wish I could un-need you, so I did."
As entrancing and unnerving as the Twilight Zone itself, "twilight zone" is a stunning ode to love lost in the name of a brighter future. Between the ethereal string instrumental and effervescent, twinkling production surrounding Grande's vocal, "twilight zone" radiates the vibrant strength it requires to leave behind the beautiful things of the past. But with that strength comes a new kind of peace; Ariana sings, "It's not like I'd ever change a thing / Cause I'm right here where I'm meant to be."
As Ariana leaves behind the past, she falls back into the glow of new love on her own terms. Dancing through sunny "warm" and luscious "dandelion," she leans on reinvented versions of the pop and trap sonic influences that carried some of the hits of her past. "warm" boasts an atmospheric orbiting of production whims from ear to ear while "dandelion" blossoms from a horn solo into a dizzying dance beat that flaunts the palpable passion oozing from Ariana's every note as she sings, "Yes, I promise / If I'm being honest, you can get anything you'd you'd like / Can't you see I bloom at night?"
Sealing eternal sunshine with a kiss to all the versions of Ariana Grande that have come before, "past life" and "Hampstead" rise above the rest as the most enthralling, ghostly, and freeing tales of this chapter. You can pluck sensational one-liners from these songs from every corner of the universe - "just let the music confiscate my soul," "might fuck around and elevate my expectations," "I'd rather be seen and alive than dying by your point of view" - and each one will give a glimpse into the constellations of coping that Ariana has reached for throughout her Saturn Return. But when aligned as one, these songs, and the full eternal sunshine deluxe chapter, prove that Grande shines brighter as she ascends outside the orbit of her demons and harnesses her own power as one of the brightest stars in pop music.
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