Ariana Grande has been one of the most famous musicians for the past decade. She started her career in the hit Nickelodeon show Victorious starring alongside other actors and musicians Liz Gillies, Leon Thomas L, Victoria Justice, and more. She released her first album in 2013, around the same time her character Cat’s spinoff series Sam and Cat began. She released 6 albums from then until 2020 and has now come out with her 7th, Eternal Sunshine.
When someone says the name Ariana Grande, the first thought is pop music. She has been the face of pop music since her popularity began in 2013, though her 2nd album My Everything is what sparked her career and has endless hits to prove it. Songs like “Break Free”, “Problem”, and “One Last Time” (all from the said album) are still insanely popular radio songs that everyone knows the words to.
The album Eternal Sunshine contains 13 songs, two of which have already started trending on social media despite the album’s debut only three weeks ago. Her first single “Yes, and?” is a song giving the vibes of a more 80s-like pop song, with some comparing it to the style of Madonna. This song is no doubt the result of the backlash Grande received nearly a year ago after being rumored of having an affair with her married Broadway costar, as represented in the lyrics which essentially encourage fans to own up to (but not necessarily apologize for ) their mistakes by saying “yes, and?”. The majority of the songs on the album stick with her usual genre of pop, but is it starting to become too repetitive? After 4 full listens to the album, most of the songs are still difficult to identify from one another. They have a similar sound to a slower pop song and lyrics addressing the same sort of situation, so choosing which ones are better or worse is a difficult task. Some that did stick out are “we can’t be friends” and “imperfect for you”. Both songs have melodies and sounds that differentiate from the other tracks on the album, which adds a nice change when listening in order. My personal favorite is “Bye” which to me sounds like a song that would be done by a more dance-like artist, specifically Dua Lipa. The track is more upbeat in comparison to most of the songs Grande has released and is a great opener to the album. Overall, Eternal Sunshine could be categorized as an easy-listening album, or as some call it on social media, H&M music (meaning a song that you’d hear while casually shopping in the mall since those tend to be basic pop songs). The songs aren’t so deep that you need to sit down and grab a tissue, but they aren’t so exciting that you feel the urge to bust out dancing. I would rate this album a 6.5/10, but with a few more deep listenings it could reach an 8/10. Ariana Grande has made an amazing career creating basic pop songs, and though they aren’t the most amazing pieces in the world (not including her vocals, since she is unarguably one of the most skilled musicians vocally), they’re fun and have made a large impact in today’s pop culture.
