In description Eternal sunshine As a “kind of concept album” that “just fell into place,” Ariana Grande doesn't give her seventh record the credit it deserves. Yes, it is in no way dedicated to the sci-fi cult of the same name, Charlie Kaufman's novel. Eternal sunshine of the spotless mindin which former lovers subject themselves to memory erasure to redeem each other, but her ambivalent recollection of a past relationship directly reflects the resistance to forgetting Kaufman's leadership, and in turn expands on Grande's unwavering ethos. Thank you, next. The film, then, is more than just an effective metaphor for putting an end to her recently headline-grabbing conflict—it offers a poignant framing device that adds to the evidence of Grande's breakup and, in effect, forges her first clearly conceptual record.
The similarities between the two are many. Where is the previous version Attitudes He fills himself with stability and contentment, Eternal sunshine It is the polar opposite, dealing instead with endings. Here, the lines between love and hate blur into the post-breakup haze, as memory allows love to continue. As Peaches—an ambiguous counterpart to Kate Winslet's fraught Clementine—a newly separated Grande struggles to let go of her feelings, settle on any emotion in particular, or move forward amid new love and accusations that threaten to taint memory and truth. She commits this loss of the past, strangely enough, in her most vital work of recent years.
Stay away from faint sounds Attitudes, Eternal sunshine Beams with lush '90s R&B and a long-dormant pop sensibility. With pop pioneer Max Martin at the helm, it's no surprise that Catharsis took the lead to accurately portray Grande's decision to move on. On the front end, Grande knows that relationships come and go. Regarding her emotional “farewell” speech, she simply said: “This is not the first time I have been hostage to these tears.” […] Goodbye, goodbye / Oh boy, goodbye / It's over. Later, in the Robyn-inspired electropop song, “We Can't Be Friends (Wait for Your Love),” Grande parallels the erasure of Kaufman's memory — “I just want to let this story die,” she sings, and then, amidst heartache and delirium, seeks to change… The mind in the phrase “I wish I hated you.” Lined with sadness, in the gentle title song, she can't deny that, somewhere, he'll always be “eternal sunshine”, and finally, changed forever, to the last time she admits she's “fucked up, worried, too much”. On distinct acoustic pop music “Imperfect for you,” which is consistent with Clementine’s confession that she is “just a slutty girl looking for… [her] “Private peace of mind.” After near-constant scrutiny under the public eye, such a blatantly confessional approach gives way to this comprehensive capsule of Ariana's trademark pop music – Eternal sunshine It could have been a self-titled statement record in another life.
Such scrutiny seems to limit any possibility of moving forward. Grande's breaking of the fourth wall was particularly powerful, a sudden but necessary retreat to Earth to discredit dissidents (not unlike Jim Carrey waking Joel up while he's conducting it). Amid allegations of infidelity from the tabloids, Grande is responding to the rumors to correct the narrative: She's offering to “play the villain” if necessary in the “true story” of '90s R&B. “I'm done caring/What do you think, no, I won't hide/Under your own expectations,” she sings in the anthemic, debt-ridden Vogue's “Yes, and?” Then he asks “Why do you care so much whose dick I ride?” Punches are rare, mind, and are more of a passing device than a full confession: “My tongue is sacred / I speak what I like.” With an eye for sloppiness, she flexes muscles unlike anything seen before in her catalogue, and the throwbacks match her newfound knack for rebuttal and aplomb.
In the end, those similarities to Kaufman Eternal sunshine Presenting a related lesson: Grande Eternal sunshine Serving as the final eradication of memory, an ode to honoring and keeping contained the eternal sunshine and its associated afflictions – a sort of second part of Thank you, next The thesis that allows for a well-deserved and long-awaited return to full capacity. Speaking with Zane Lowe, Grande said the healing had a positive impact on her work: “I loved every minute of making this album – more than I ever have in my life.” A breakup album from the other side, then, e.gPermanent sunlight is Grande's most interesting yet, not least in terms of its concept but for the creative joy and growth at its heart: old-school R&B and contemporary pop push Grande's essential richness to new highs; Science fiction cinema offers a realistic treatment and tribute to lost love; And boldness Eternal sunshine She suggests that she enjoys putting things right, too — a little sun in the middle of all the rain.
