Pop icon Ariana Grande might've recently been in the media for her relationship drama, but now everyone's talking about her upcoming album. After almost four years, the songbird has finally returned to the music scene with new music. She's set to make a comeback with her seventh studio album titled Eternal Sunshine, which is slated to be released on Friday, March 8, 2024, through Republic Records. This is ahead of her appearance as the musical guest on SNL's March 9 episode.
Back in May 2022, Ariana Grande announced to the world that she wouldn't be working on a new album until she finished shooting the upcoming musical fantasy films Wicked Part One and Wicked Part Two. Then, in October 2023, she teased fans by posting several pictures on her Instagram with a caption reading, "ag7: goat mother." One of the photos was of Grammy Award-winning Swedish producer and one of Grande's long-time collaborators, Max Martin. Of course, this got fans pumped up because this teaser let them know that Grande was cooking up something in the studio.
In December 2023, Grande continued to tease fans by sharing videos and photos on Instagram of herself working in various studios. This was when fans suspected that an album announcement would be coming soon, and they didn't have to wait long because on Dec. 27, Grande confirmed that a new album would be coming out the next year (2024). Check out the last slide on Grande's Instagram post below to see her cute reaction to finishing up her seventh album.
The conception of Ariana Grande's Eternal Sunshine album
Grande reportedly began working on Eternal Sunshine in September 2023 after production was shut down on the Wicked movies due to the SAG-AFTRA strike. According to Grande, she worked with Max Martin in the studio for a few weeks as well as worked on the album by herself. After recording all the songs and making sure everything was perfected, work on the album officially wrapped up in late December 2023. It's being described as a mix of Grande's fourth studio album Sweetener and her fifth album Thank You, Next, incorporating pop, house music, and R&B.
Here's what Grande has said about Eternal Sunshine via Billboard's official website:
"It’s kind of a concept album ’cause it’s all different heightened pieces of the same story, of the same experience. Some of [the songs] are really vulnerable, some of them are like playing the part of what people kind of expect me to be sometimes and having fun with it."Ariana Grande
On Jan. 12, 2024, Grande released the album's lead single "Yes, And?," with music critics and fans applauding it. As expected, it shot up the Billboard Hot 100 and debuted at No. 1, marking Grande's eighth number-one single in the U.S. The official music video for the song also dropped the same day. A remix featuring Mariah Carey aka the "Songbird Supreme" was released the next month. Sadly, Grande revealed on her Instagram stories back in February that she wouldn't be releasing any more pre-release singles because she wanted listeners to "experience the album in full this time."
Grande would later reveal the album's title through little easter eggs in the "Yes, And?" music video and by sharing some lines from Alexander Pope's poem "Eloisa to Abelard" on her Instagram.
Eternal Sunshine full tracklist
There are 13 songs in total on Eternal Sunshine, with the album being 35 minutes and 26 seconds long. This is Grande's shortest album to date. Instead of unveiling the entire tracklist at once, Grande had been revealing the song titles and their track order over time. On Feb. 27, 2024, she shared the complete tracklist via a video on Instagram. Here's the tracklist below.
- "Intro (End of the World)" - 1 minute and 32 seconds long
- "Bye" - 2 minutes and 44 seconds long
- "Don't Wanna Break Up Again" - 2 minutes and 54 seconds long
- "Saturn Returns Interlude" - 42 seconds long
- "Eternal Sunshine" - 3 minutes and 30 seconds long
- "Supernatural" - 2 minutes and 43 seconds long
- "True Story" - 2 minutes and 43 seconds long
- "The Boy Is Mine" - 2 minutes and 53 seconds long
- "Yes, And?" - 3 minutes and 34 seconds long
- "We Can't Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)" - 3 minutes and 48 seconds long
- "I Wish I Hated You" - 2 minutes and 33 seconds long
- "Imperfect for You" - 3 minutes and 2 seconds long
- "Ordinary Things" (featuring Nonna) - 2 minutes and 48 seconds long
On album release day (March 8), "We Can't Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)" will be released as the second single. The official music video for the song is set to drop on the same day. You will be able to purchase Eternal Sunshine in the following formats: CD, vinyl LP, digital download, and streaming.
Watch Ariana Grande talk about the creative process behind Eternal Sunshine and more in a new interview on the Zach Sang Show.
Part 2 to this interview will be released on March 8, so be on the lookout for that.
Will you be copping Ariana Grande's new album Eternal Sunshine? Also, don't forget to watch her take the stage as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live's March 9 episode, airing on NBC at 11:30 p.m. ET/10:30 p.m. CT/9:30 p.m. MT/8:30 p.m. PT!