The original album Eternal Sunshine dropped on March 8, 2024, and I reviewed it last June. It shares Ariana Grande’s side of the story over the cheating and homewrecking allegations she has endured. Shortly afterwards, she came out with a slightly deluxe edition, featuring remixes with other artists.
Eventually, Grande released Eternal Sunshine Deluxe: Brighter Days Ahead on March 28, 2025. On this new updated version of her album, she has added new layers of emotion and depth, making the original feel a hundred times more powerful and personal.
The deluxe album has six additional songs that range from fun pop songs to ballads. Every one of these new tracks is worth listening to, especially because they are a part of a larger overall story.
The song “intro (end of the world)” was already a fan favorite when the album was first released, but it was very short. So when fans heard that there was going to be an extended version, they were very excited.
The added portion of the song is very emotional because of its lyrics. Grande sings, “I broke your heart because you broke mine/To me, I am the bad guy/‘Cause I’d already grieved you/And you started to realize I do need you, I did/I wish I could un-need you, so I did.” These lyrics particularly resonated with fans, because their message is relatable for anyone going through a messy break up.
However, one complaint I have is that the end of the original song, and the start of the extended portion, both sound a little choppy. But this is not that noticeable if you aren’t really listening closely, like I am. These lyrics, along with the song’s beat, elevate this track to convey Grande’s emotions about her divorce from Dalton Gomez.
“Twilight Zone”, “past life” and “Hampstead” also all talk about Grande’s breakup, but the one track that really stands out rhythmically and lyrically is “Hampstead”. This is the song that really showcases her side of the scandal with Gomez.
“Hamstead” is a beautiful ballad that exquisitely showcases Grande’s vocals. In this song, she admits that she and Gomez were both wrong with their actions. She sings, “Threw away my reputation, but saved us more heartache,” and later she claims, “But quite frankly, you’re still wrong about everything.”
This song is also really Grande’s opportunity to address her critics. The public does not know all the details of her life, and this song tells them that they will never know the whole story. But Grande is who she is now, with everything she has gone through.
The last two songs on the deluxe version are “warm” and “dandelion”. These tracks are way more fun, poppy and happy, and they reveal how Grande feels now after everything that has happened. Both songs are catchy and beautifully produced, and they really finish the story that Grande is trying to tell.
With the release of this deluxe album, the artist has also previewed some of her songs in a short documentary titled “brighter days ahead’. It is only twenty-six minutes long, but it has a ton of meaning behind it.
This video is a continuation of her “we can’t be friends (wait for your love)” music video. The character played by Grande is named Peaches, and in the “brighter days ahead” video we see that she has aged greatly, and she is back at the memory place to review her past.
This video is very sentimental, as it features Grande’s actual memories on home video tapes. Her motivation was to imply that healing is powerful, and even when we look back on our lives and regret things, it is all just a part of our story. Overall, this is a very creative way to continue the storytelling of her album and to showcase some of her new songs.
Ultimately, this deluxe album has made me fall in love with Eternal Sunshine all over again. It is beautifully composed and really tells a story that many fans can relate to.
Every song on this collection is worth listening to, so don’t wait! Go listen right now!
