‘eternal sunshine deluxe: brighter days ahead’ Review

Last year, despite the plethora of pop releases releasing, eternal sunshine by Ariana Grande stood out to me as one of the best. The standard edition is my favorite album by Grande. Delivering a nuanced and empathetic take on her personal life, while incorporating the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind as a means to express her story. The album is full of hits but also some truly eye opening moments, such as don’t wanna break up again and i wish i hated you. So needless to say I was ready to be taken back into this world. Read our full review for eternal sunshine deluxe: brighter days ahead below.

Ariana Grande ended the standard edition of the album with two songs about new love and resolution, but with the deluxe she takes us right back to the beginning of the album. This is why I find it to be extremely important that she included the extended version of the first track intro (end of the world,) because it tells us that this is the same story with more detail and depth.

The deluxe tracks are way less forgiving on her ex muse. It seems to me that with time Grande has found a way to articulate her anger and frustration in a compelling way. I find this to be the case with the two last tracks, past life and Hampstead, where they seem to be more honest and darker versions of other songs on the album. past life reminds me a lot of don’t wanna break up again, seeming to chronicle the time when her last partner and her were still together and falling apart. Both of these songs stand as testaments to what it is like to experience a partner slipping away, but past life takes it a step further and has her claim she is okay to leave him behind. I found it to be a profound and necessary edition to the album. With bonus tracks I always expect them to either add a new part of the story or dive deeper into already charted ground, and I can say confidently that all these songs add something new and needed to the entire story. 

My personal favorite of the deluxe edition has to be warm. The song feels more aligned with the last songs of the album, feeling like a mix of the lyrics of boy is mine and vibe of imperfect for you. Despite its upbeat nature, I feel like this song gives us the most insight into why she entered this new relationship so soon. She explains how she is fine on her own but in her heart of hearts she loves to be loved. It is vulnerable while still displaying that she can be independent. The line, “‘Cause I’m cool on my own, but it’s warmer in your arms,” is a simple but telling line. The song does not just explain how she wants love though, for it goes into her reservations with it as well. You can tell that there is a real push and pull with her emotions, and the entire album is Ariana giving insight into why she has made the decisions she has. warm is my favorite addition and I can see it holding up as one of my favorite tracks by the end of the year. 

Altogether, eternal sunshine deluxe: brighter days ahead is the perfect conclusion to this era, cementing this album as pop bible status. I sometimes have trouble with deluxe editions because I usually never like the new songs as much as the original batch, but this is a different story. I can see songs like warm and Hampstead going down as not only the best for this album but the best of her entire discography for me. If you have not already done so, go and listen to eternal sunshine deluxe: brighter days ahead because it is a triumph for Grande that stands as her most personal and sagacious album to date. 

eternal sunshine deluxe: brighter days ahead is the seventh studio album released by Ariana Grande. The album is written and produced by Grande, Max Martin, Ilya Salmanzadeh, and Oscar Görres. eternal sunshine deluxe: brighter days ahead was released on all streaming platforms on March 28. 

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