Ariana Grande on the red carpet at the 97th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre on Sunday, March 2, 2025, in Los Angeles. Credit: Christina House/Los Angeles Times via TNS
Just days before dropping “eternal sunshine deluxe: brighter days ahead,” famous singer, songwriter and actress Ariana Grande made history.
According to a March 17 X post from chart data, Grande became the first female artist to have 20 songs reach one billion streams each on Spotify — a feat that cements her as one of the most influential streaming artists of all time.
The original album, released March 8, 2024, was a massive success, marking her sixth No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart and featuring two Billboard Top 100 No.1 hits: “yes, and?” and “we can’t be friends (wait for your love).” The album explores themes of love, heartbreak and self-discovery, incorporating sleek production that contributed to a more mature sound.
The deluxe version includes five new tracks, one extended track and a short film, further developing the original album’s themes while offering fresh perspectives, displaying her healing journey through heartbreak, capturing the struggle of letting go and ultimately finding strength in acceptance.
Though the first new track is not exactly new, “intro (end of the world) – extended” begins with a boom. This track delves deep, exploring much about heartbreak, capturing the weight of love lost through haunting melodies. Its breathy, new harmonies toward the end of the track stand out, showing off Grande’s technical prowess as a vocalist.
The songs “twilight zone” and “warm” follow the extended introduction and resonate powerfully, offering a newfound look at life, love and vulnerability, all while taking on a brighter, synth-pop sound.
The song “dandelion” stands out from the rest of the new tracks with its 40-second jazz-saxophone instrumental at the beginning, which is uniquely enjoyable. In the song, Grande expresses her hopes of starting fresh and finding new love, also showcasing her hallmark ability to blend vulnerability with confidence in her songwriting.
She gracefully harmonizes with herself throughout, especially in parts of the clever melody: “I promise if I’m being honest / You can get anything you’d like / Can’t you see I bloom at night?”
The last two tracks, “past life” and “Hampstead,” are arguably her best vocal displays on the extended record. The song “past life” returns to a more synth-heavy sound, whereas “Hampstead” brings out a heavy piano arrangement with deeply emotional lyrics such as, “I’d rather feel everything than nothing every time.”
The rawness of these tracks makes for a perfect conclusion to the deluxe edition, emphasizing the emotional highs and lows Grande communicates so well.
The inclusion of a short film, titled “brighter days ahead,” adds a compelling visual element to the album, pulling listeners into Grande’s world and bringing the record’s themes to life. Grande reprises her role as Peaches, the character from her “we can’t be friends (wait for your love)” music video, which was released March 8, 2024.
This character, along with the film, draws inspiration from the 2004 sci-fi romance film “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” which explores similar themes of memory and loss, central to Grande’s short film.
The 26-minute film, written and directed by Grande and Christian Breslauer, follows Peaches on a surreal journey through her forgotten memories.
The short film begins with Peaches, now a gray-haired, older woman in a wheelchair, returning to the Brighter Days memory-wiping center — first encountered by a younger Peaches in the “we can’t be friends (wait for your love)” music video — where patients relive important moments from their lives after undergoing the memory-wiping process. The film creates a sense of nostalgia and becomes emotional as Peaches experiences different moments of her life alongside people special to her.
Through its evocative storytelling, the film serves as the perfect visual counterpart to “eternal sunshine deluxe: brighter days ahead,” reinforcing its themes of love and loss.
Grande not only meets expectations, but surpasses them with these new releases, demonstrating her artistic evolution with both vision and sound. The additional tracks and the accompanying short film feel like essential extensions of the original record, providing fans with an even richer experience.
Rating: 4/5
